


Yes, Coach

by emmerrr



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Gen, Wymack POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 72,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9857321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: Missing scenes and scene re-tellings from the All For The Game series from the POV of everyone's favourite coach.(Based around the canon storyline but I have probably taken a few liberties - take it with a pinch of salt ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so fun fact, Wymack is probably like my second favourite character after Neil? I love him. I scrolled the whole way through the Wymack tag on ao3 and skimmed all the summaries to see if there was a fic like this but I didn't see one so I thought I'd write it myself.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, they fuel me (and also make me smile <3 )

David sat with a pile of folders on the table in front of him, one open on his lap as he scanned through the contents. He needed a new striker sub ASAP now that Janie Smalls was out of commission, and had enlisted Kevin to help him look through potential candidates on a Wednesday afternoon while Andrew was with Betsy. In retrospect it hadn’t been David’s best idea, as Kevin had flipped through the folders and dismissed each and every one with ruthless scorn.

“Is this a joke?” Kevin asked, holding a folder in his hand. “This one’s only been playing a year. Coach, why are we looking at amateurs?” Kevin shook his head in disgust and tossed the folder back on the pile with the others. It overbalanced and fell to its side, heavier than the rest, and when David picked it up and opened it, he found a tape affixed to the back of the folder. Kevin obviously hadn’t looked past the first page to notice it.

David handed the tape to Kevin. “This is probably worth a look before we dismiss him entirely, don’t you think?” he said. Kevin scowled but took the tape over to the entertainment centre anyway and set up the tape before sitting down to watch. David didn’t join him yet, busying himself with the rest of the files first, but it didn’t escape his notice that Kevin had gone suspiciously quiet. When the tape ended, Kevin rewound it and started again from the beginning.

Finally, David reached the file where the tape had come from. He scanned the key details: Neil Josten from Millport, Arizona, striker for the Millport Dingos, 5’3, just turned 19 years old. Like Kevin had said, Josten had only been playing for a year, and although his stats weren’t the most impressive David had ever seen, they were nothing to sniff at considering he was so new to Exy.

David looked at the photograph attached to the file. Josten was an unassuming looking kid, black hair and brown eyes. He was a little hunched though, and seemed uncomfortable to be photographed, not looking directly into the camera. David didn’t know exactly why Josten’s coach, Hernandez, had thought this kid was the right kind of fit for the Foxes, but there had to be a story there somewhere.

Keeping the file in hand, David went over to where Kevin was still watching the tape. David perched on the sofa next to Kevin and turned his attention to the TV. It didn’t take long for David to realise what had Kevin so interested, and he let out a low whistle. “Jesus, he’s fast.”

“He’s crazy fast,” Kevin agreed, not taking his eyes off the screen. He was transfixed, and David could see why. Josten wasn’t the cleanest of players, but he played with such intensity that it was clear to see even through a screen how much he loved Exy. David found himself smiling; so much potential in such a small package. Just like a certain goalkeeper, except even better — this kid actually looked like he gave a shit.

When the tape finished, Kevin didn’t replay it again. “Don’t bother looking at anyone else,” he said, and he pointed at Josten’s picture in the file David still held. “We want _him_.”

* * *

David phoned Coach Hernandez to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Neil Josten in order to sign him to the line. Kevin had been insistent — Neil was going to be Court one day.

“We need to do this as soon as possible, really,” David said. “I’m pushed for time and really need to sign someone.”

“We’ve got a game Friday, and if we win it we’re one away from finals. You could fly down, watch it and meet Neil after?”

“That sounds great. I’ll be bringing Kevin and Andrew with me, I hope that won’t be a problem?”

“No, no, I don’t think so. Well, I just won’t tell Neil anyone’s coming. I don’t want to get his hopes up or make him anxious. I’ll try and get in touch with his parents, too, but that could prove difficult.”

David paused for a moment, unsure whether he wanted answers over the phone, or if he should wait to meet Neil in person first. In the end, curiosity got the better of him and he caved. “I gotta ask, Hernandez. You know my recruiting standards, but the info you sent on Neil didn’t say anything specific. What makes you think he qualifies?”

Hernandez sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. You know, he’s been with us for a year and I’ve never met his parents? Not once. None of the teachers here have. Whenever I ask he just tells me they’re out of town.” Hernandez hesitated, and David got the feeling he was unsure whether or not to say anything else. Eventually, he carried on. “He sleeps in the locker room sometimes. A few times a week, actually. I know he does it, and I think he knows I do, but I never ask and he never tells. I just figured the kid maybe doesn’t have a great home life, you know? He won’t change out with the rest of the team.”

David straightened in his chair and furrowed his brow, abruptly alert. “You think his parents are hurting him?”

Hernandez sighed again; David thought he sounded exhausted. “I have no idea. Maybe he’s just really self-conscious. But I’d say it’s a possibility. I’m sorry, I know this is all very vague.”

“It’s fine, it definitely sounds like something’s off.”

Hernandez hummed non-committally.

“Alright,” David continued. “I’ll sort out flights and send you the details when I have them. We’ll see you and Neil on Friday.”

“Great. And thank you.”

“Thank _you_.”

* * *

It wasn’t until the plane-ride home from Millport that Andrew finally decided to voice his opinion. He had been relentlessly tapping his fingers against the tray-table ever since the seatbelt signs had been switched off, and David wondered how much of it was due to legitimate agitation and how much was restlessness brought on by Andrew’s medication. Kevin, asleep in the middle seat between them, was oblivious to Andrew’s fidgeting.

“Nope. It’s just no good, Coach. I don’t like him,” Andrew said suddenly, like they were continuing on a previous conversation.

“You don’t like anyone,” David pointed out.

Andrew grinned. “How true.”

“Also, his first impression of _you_ is being whacked full force in the stomach with a racquet, so I doubt he’s all that keen on you either. Give it a little longer before you form an opinion.”

Andrew hummed, mulling this over as he gazed out of the window. Eventually, his eyes snapped back to David’s. “Can’t be helped then,” he said with a wide smile David didn’t even remotely believe. “We’ll have to wait until he gets to South Carolina, and then I can decide.”

“Decide what?” David asked warily.

Andrew tilted his head to the side with a look that suggested he thought David was being deliberately obtuse. “If I’m going to let him stay.”

David lifted a finger and pointed it in Andrew’s face. “If you mess with that kid, Minyard, I swear to _god_ —”

“Oh, Coach, we’re done talking about this for now,” Andrew said dismissively, waving a hand before turning back to the window. He didn’t speak to David for the rest of the flight.

* * *

After dropping Kevin and Andrew off at Fox Tower, David went over to Abby’s.

“How did it go?” she asked as soon as he sat down at the kitchen table.

“Probably about as well as it could have. He’s going to sign, at least. His coach should be faxing over the contract on Monday.”

“What’s he like?”

David shrugged. “Hard to say. He’s a skittish little thing, but I guess we did sort of blindside him.” He frowned. “He’s _weird_ about Kevin. I couldn’t figure out if he worships him or hates him.”

“Let’s hope it’s not hate, otherwise Andrew’s going to be a problem.”

“Oh, Andrew’s going to be a problem for sure.” David sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes. “I could just really do without a repeat of last year with Matt.”

“Is that likely? Do you think Neil is on something?”

David shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, but what with Andrew watching Kevin’s back now, he’s not gonna take any chances if he suspects Neil’s a threat. They’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other though, he’s coming early. He’ll be staying with me after he graduates until the dorm opens.”

“He can stay here if you want. It’ll be a squeeze, but what’s one more?”

“I appreciate the offer, but you’ll already be at full capacity, and I’d rather not have Neil and Andrew’s lot under the same roof while they’re getting used to each other. I doubt Neil would feel comfortable, and god knows the others won’t make it easy for him.”

Abby accepted that without argument. “Why does he have to come early anyway? Parent problems?”

David nodded, and thought of the look on Neil’s face when he had grudgingly admitted that he’d need to come early to get away. “I don’t know the specifics, but they’re definitely an issue.”

“He’s coming to the right team, then,” Abby said, smiling a little and resting a hand on David’s arm.

David offered her a half-smile back. “Yeah. Yeah, I hope so.”

So much about that initial confrontation with Neil had been off, from the way Neil had ran away from David (and straight into Andrew's borrowed racquet), to his reaction to Kevin, and the way he had talked his way around the issue of his parents. He said he wouldn’t sign, but then he _had_ signed, and that alone told David everything he needed to know about Neil’s love of Exy. It was everything else that was a mystery.

Being here — playing with the Foxes — would be good for Neil, David was sure of it. They just needed to give him a solid base to stand on, the likes of which he clearly didn’t have back in Millport. Playing Exy here with Kevin to help him would give Neil something to strive for. David just hoped that Andrew would give him a chance to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for next time!


	2. Chapter 2

David had planned on being able to pick Neil up from the airport himself but, as ever, he had found himself needed at the stadium to try and placate the ERC _again_ about not having to release any information about Neil’s signing yet. He felt like he’d spent most of the last month on the phone and there didn’t seem to be any let up in sight. David’s only option had been to send Nicky to the airport in his stead. On one hand, Nicky was at least a friendly face to greet Neil with, but on the other hand, Nicky’s driving left a lot to be desired and there was a chance neither would make it back to David’s apartment alive. So, swings and roundabouts, David supposed.

Nevertheless, Neil _had_ made it in one piece, and was now at the Foxhole Court with Kevin and the others, who had said they’d bring him to Abby’s with them later. To any outsiders it would have looked like an olive branch of friendship; just some teammates showing around their newest member. However, David knew that with Andrew’s lot it was never that simple, and he just hoped that Neil would be alright on his own with them. He hadn’t looked anywhere near _wary_ enough of Andrew, which David was fairly surprised by considering the violence of their first meeting.

Another thing that concerned David was how little Neil had brought with him. Just a single duffel bag, which didn’t seem a lot even if Neil was a light packer. If David were to guess, he’d say that Neil had perhaps packed in a hurry and just grabbed the essentials, or whatever he could get his hands on first. Either way, he had been incredibly uncomfortable to be separated from his bag, and unwilling to leave it out in the open of David’s living room. “It’s all I have,” he had said, and David could tell how much it cost Neil just to admit that. David had asked no questions but offered him a lockable drawer and gave him a key that Neil could keep until he moved out.

The keys to the court and the apartment, that was another thing. David had noticed how tightly Neil had clutched the keys.

David didn’t like to pry — Neil’s business was his own — but he also knew that the cagier Neil was, the more on guard Andrew would be. Luckily, Abby had threatened to revoke stadium rights if they messed with Neil before the rest of the Foxes arrived for summer practices, so with a bit of luck Neil would mellow out by then and Andrew would dismiss him as harmless. But that was a big ask.

David got to Abby’s before the others and helped her get the dinner ready. When the rest of them arrived, David subtly gave Neil a once over; he looked uncomfortable, but that was to be expected. David, in his usual gruff manner, was quick to insist Neil be given no special treatment just because he was new. He didn’t think Neil would take too well to being babied anyway.

Neil barely said a word the entire time they were there, and David took him back to the apartment a little after ten. Neil sat rigidly in the passenger seat, as close to the door as he could, and David wasn’t sure if it was _him_ putting Neil so on edge, or if it was just the reality of Neil’s new situation that was making him tense. Whichever it was, David took pity on him and didn’t try to force a conversation.

Once inside the apartment, David tried to make it clear that if Andrew or any of the others made things difficult for Neil, then he could and _should_ come straight to David. Neil had nodded, but the way he had said, “I’ll figure it out,” when David asked if they were going to be a problem left him with the impression that Neil wasn’t accustomed to asking for help. He wondered if it would even occur to Neil to do so in the event he ever actually needed any.

If he wasn't careful, Andrew was going to eat him alive.

* * *

David fetched the vacuum cleaner and began cleaning up the coffee grinds from the floor with gritted teeth, silent anger coursing through him. Neil sat behind him at the kitchen table, struggling to eat leftovers with his blown out arms — because apparently Neil was even stupider than he looked. David didn’t say anything else to him, and once he’d cleaned up the mess he retreated to his office, partly because of his never-ending pile of paperwork, but also because he wanted to give Neil some space.

He sat down at his desk and half-heartedly flipped through some papers before giving up and sighing. He leaned forward, propped his elbows up on his desk and put his head in his hands. He couldn’t get the interaction with Neil out of his head. It was the flinch that did it. David had never had one of his kids flinch away from him before; they knew he was all bark and no bite.

And that was the thing about flinches — they were involuntary motions. Neil had moved on pure instinct, and his instinct was to back away when David had raised his voice. The theories about Neil’s parents laying hands on him were sounding more and more plausible by the day.

David had assured Neil that he would never hit him, but when it came down to it, Neil would have to come to that conclusion on his own. His distrust, whatever the cause, was ingrained, and it would take more than a few words from David for Neil to relax around him. There was nothing else David could do except wait him out.

It grated a little that Neil was clearly more scared of David than he was of Andrew, but David quickly shook off that irritation. He couldn’t take it as a slight against him, because it wasn’t _about_ him. It was about Neil, and Neil obviously had really shitty parents.

David’s parents had been really shitty, too.

* * *

David watched Neil disappear down the stairs before turning back and heading back inside his apartment. Neil had taken the truth about Kevin and Riko and the real business of the Moriyama’s surprisingly well, but David couldn’t think about that too much at the moment. For now, he had Kevin to worry about.

In the living room, Kevin sat slumped on the floor, his back against the couch cushions and both hands gripped tightly around the bottle of vodka David had given him. He no longer looked like he was going to lash out violently, but there was a hollow look in his eyes, and he didn’t even register David’s presence. The news of Edgar Allen changing districts was always going to cause Kevin to have a meltdown, but it had been a while since David had seen him in such a state.

David crouched down in front of Kevin and waited until he had taken another swig before taking the bottle from him.

“Hey,” he said, and Kevin finally looked up.

“I can’t do this,” Kevin said, sounding utterly broken. “I can’t face Riko.”

“You can. And you will. He doesn’t own you, Kevin.”

Kevin made an exasperated noise. “He _does_.”

David shook his head adamantly. “No. You’re a Fox now. He lost the right to be anything to you the second he broke your hand, and honestly, you never should have been with the Ravens in the first place. No,” David continued, bulling on through when Kevin opened his mouth to respond, “I mean it Kevin. I don’t want to hear about what you can’t do. They said you wouldn’t play at all, and look at you now?”

“Right handed, though,” Kevin said weakly. “I can’t play with my left anymore. It’s not the same. _I’m_ not the same.”

“You’re right,” David said. “You can be better now.” His eyes flickered down to the jagged silver scars that covered the back of Kevin’s left hand, and he felt the familiar anger — no, _fury_ — rise up at what Riko had reduced Kevin to out of petty jealousy.

But Kevin was with the Foxes now, where he always should have been, and he had the potential to be so much better than before if he’d only dare to try.

Kevin had gone quiet again, and David didn’t think he’d get anything else out of him. He passed him the bottle back and Kevin took it as though he were a dying man in the desert.

“Easy,” David said. “You need to be coherent when you see Andrew, remember?”

Kevin nodded and waved a hand in irritation.

David sighed and left him to it.

It was going to be a long season.


	3. Chapter 3

The Palmetto State Foxes were a mess of a team, built on mutual distrust and antagonism between Andrew’s group and the upperclassmen, sometimes between the rest of the upperclassmen and Seth, and sometimes between Kevin and everyone else when Kevin was feeling particularly obnoxious. It really depended on the day. There were few that David could rely on to be consistent team players — Dan, Matt, and Renee respectively — but even they couldn’t smooth over all of the cracks. Despite all of their bullshit, knowing that he was just a few hours away from having all of his team back in the same place again made David feel better in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

David had a certain amount of fondness for all of his Foxes, even the ones with shitty personalities — which, now that he thought about it, was most of them — but he was at least glad that Matt was the first roommate that Neil met. Seth was bound to be unpleasant; it was just his nature, but also he had _already_ complained about Neil’s signing back when David first told the team about it, and was almost guaranteed to bring up his concerns again at the team meeting later on. Neil had been holding his own against Andrew since May — although, in fairness, Andrew had been remarkably well behaved when it came to Neil so far — so David had no doubt that Neil could handle Seth, but it still didn’t mean the atmosphere would be all that comfortable for the rookie striker. Then again, Neil didn’t strike David as someone who would care what Seth’s opinion of him was. Or anyone’s, for that matter, with the possible exception of Kevin.

After Matt had collected Neil from the stadium to take him to Fox Tower, David returned to his office. He had a mountain of paperwork to do, but he was also steeling himself for the news he had to break to the team later about the Ravens being in their district this year. He was so distracted that it took a moment before David noticed Abby standing in the doorway, arms crossed as she leaned against the door-frame, a faraway look on her face. David cleared his throat and when she looked at him he arched an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Hmm? Oh. . . yeah.” Abby’s mouth set in a straight line and there was a crinkle in her brow that suggested all was not well. “I, uh, gave Neil his physical already. So that’s out of the way now.”

David nodded slowly. “Was everything alright?”

“He’s — he’s healthy,” Abby said measuredly. “No track marks.”

“Well that’s something at least,” David said. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew how physicals went, and he knew that at some point Neil would have had to take his shirt off for Abby to clear him. Knowing what he knew about Neil’s refusal to change out with the others, and everything he assumed about Neil’s home-life, it wasn’t too much of a leap to guess that hiding under his shirt were perhaps a few scars.

David wouldn’t ask, and Abby couldn’t tell him anyway even if he did. Abby was a professional and had been dealing with the Foxes and their problems for long enough now that she was no stranger to a few scars. The fact that she was so clearly rattled by whatever she had seen during Neil’s physical, however, made David think that there was even more to Neil’s problems than first thought. The sooner he went to see Betsy the better, although David highly doubted Neil would make good use of her.

“That poor kid,” Abby murmured absently, then clapped her hands to her mouth, as if even saying that much went against her confidentiality clause.

“Like you said, he’s come to the right team,” David said, remembering Abby’s words when he had returned from Millport after meeting Neil for the first time.

Abby slumped into the seat opposite David’s desk and let out a long sigh. “Do you ever wish you could just wrap them all up in cotton wool and protect them from the world?”

“No,” David said, and he smiled tightly. “I want to help build them up so they can save themselves.”

After all, it was Abby’s job to patch the Foxes up after they got hurt. It was David’s job to lead them in to battle.

* * *

David, as usual, woke up at 4.30am and he padded quietly to the kitchen, taking a quick peek into the living room on his way. Andrew was curled up on the sofa right where David had left him, a sleepover that he had decidedly not been invited to. David made up a flask of coffee and headed outside for his walk, hoping the chilly morning air would help him make some sort of sense out of a situation that was spiralling out of control.

David hadn’t been particularly surprised at Andrew’s unwelcome appearance the night before, but the reasoning behind the visit was certainly unexpected. He was agitated not over the district change like David had been anticipating, but about _Neil_. Andrew’s deep rooted suspicion of Neil had had him breaking into David’s apartment and staving off withdrawal from his meds with alcohol and cracker dust just so he could have a semi-sober conversation about it. That he would risk feeling so sick over this was bewildering, and David couldn’t figure out why he would bother. It surely wasn’t worth it.

“Do you know what he’s hiding?” Andrew had asked, unimpressed when David responded that it wasn’t his business unless Neil decided to _make_ it his business. It was the first time that David had admitted out loud to anyone else — even Abby — that he knew Neil wasn’t being entirely truthful, but he figured that Neil had his reasons for keeping things close to the chest, and who the hell was David to judge anyway? As long as it wasn’t detrimental to the team, he was prepared to let Neil keep his secrets.

And therein was the problem; Andrew seemed to think that Neil’s lies _were_ a danger to the team — to _Kevin_ — and was going to take Neil to Columbia to try and prove it. “Don’t you dare,” David had said, but what could he do about it, really? He could threaten to kick Andrew and his group off the team all he wanted, but he knew it was an empty threat, and so did Andrew. David wouldn’t do that to Kevin, not this year — and not _ever_ honestly — and Kevin needed Andrew.

Andrew was right; David couldn’t stop him from taking Neil to Columbia and extracting the truth with his own unorthodox methods. He just had to hope that Andrew accepted whatever answers he was given. David liked to think he was fairly good at reading people and he honestly didn’t think that Neil was any threat to Kevin; whatever his issues were they seemed to be strictly personal, but there wasn’t anything David could do to assuage Andrew’s concerns.

David didn’t like it, but Neil was on his own.

* * *

The first week of practice went about as well as could be expected, which was to say not very well at all. Seth and Kevin’s antagonism had, if anything, only intensified during the month they’d been apart, and tempers were flaring left, right and centre. It was still early days though, and that wasn’t what was concerning David at the moment.

He had barely slept Friday night; the knowledge that Neil was out in Columbia in less than friendly company didn’t sit well with him, nor did the fact that he had essentially let it happen. He tried to reason that Neil and Andrew had to sort this out for themselves, but it still didn’t make him feel all that better about it. Neil was still a Fox; a _new_ Fox, but a Fox all the same.

David received a call from Matt shortly after ten on Saturday morning to let him know that Neil had called from Columbia, saying that he was fine, that he thought they’d be heading back soon, and to keep Andrew out of their room if he tried to come in. David didn’t know what that particular request was about, but he was at least relieved to hear that Neil was alright.

Which was why it felt like being doused with cold water when Matt called back later on to say that Andrew and the others were back, but Neil was notably absent.

“Well where the _fuck_ is he?” David asked, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fore-finger.

“I don’t know, Coach. Nicky said he was at the house with them this morning but he booked it out of the bathroom window when they thought he was showering. They couldn’t find him, I don’t know what to tell you!” Matt sounded halfway to frantic — Neil hadn’t even told the upperclassmen he was going to Columbia in the first place, and this ordeal was probably bringing back unpleasant memories of Matt’s own excursion with the monsters a year earlier.

David closed his eyes; he could already feel a headache coming on. “Alright, listen, his stuff is here and he wouldn’t leave it, so he’ll definitely be on his way back. My guess is he didn’t want to ride with them and went looking for alternative transport. Just. . . just don’t panic, okay? He said he was fine when you spoke to him, right?”

“Well, yeah, but that was _then_. Plus he could have been lying.”

He was definitely lying, David thought wryly, but Matt didn’t need to know that. “Look, the others only just got back, so let’s give Neil a little longer before we send out a search party or whatever. Got it?”

Matt sighed. “Got it, Coach.”

“And let me know the _second_ Neil gets back.”

It took hours. Hours and hours of radio silence and no sign of Neil, and how the fuck was it possible that Neil didn’t have a fucking cellphone anyway? Eventually, at half past four when David had just about reached the end of his tether, there was a knock on the door and David yanked it open to see a red-faced, sweaty and exhausted looking Neil, who informed David that he’d hitchhiked and walked the way back from Columbia, and then asked if it would be alright if he stayed with David for a little while.

The fact that Neil — _despite_ having called Matt in the morning — hadn’t thought that he could ask any of them to come and get him so he didn’t have to ride with Andrew simultaneously broke David’s heart and made him infuriatingly angry. That a nineteen year old kid would be so reckless with his own safety was astonishing on so many levels that David didn’t even know where to start.

He made sure Neil had some water, phoned Andrew to demand that he come over immediately, and then threw a clean towel and clothes at Neil so he could clean himself up.

Neil was still in the bathroom when Andrew arrived, clearly still sober judging by the lack of a manic grin on his face.

“What the ever-loving _fuck_ did you lot do to him last night that made him think hitchhiking up the fucking _interstate_ was preferable to sitting in a car with you?”

Andrew slid an impassive glance David’s way but said nothing.

“I mean, _Jesus_ , Andrew, anything could have happened to him!” David couldn’t remember the last time he had been so angry before, but anger directed at Andrew was essentially useless — it had nowhere to go, it would just roll right off Andrew’s back.

Andrew’s gaze caught on something behind David, and he interrupted mid-rant to say, “Have a nice stroll?”

Neil entered the living room. “Fuck you.”

David prepared himself to mediate, wanting whatever ugly business there was between Andrew and Neil to be over and done with, _today_ , so that David could get the season back on track. He denied Neil’s request to talk to Andrew in private, but was then unceremoniously blocked out of the conversation anyway when Neil broke into fluent German.

Well. Hidden depths indeed.

Judging by the shift in Andrew’s expression, this was also a surprise to him, and probably not a welcome one. David had to wonder at how much Neil had overheard from the cousins without them realising he could understand them. Perhaps Andrew had been right to be wary of Neil; David at least could never have predicted this turn of events.

He obviously couldn’t follow the conversation, but David kept a watchful eye, and didn’t think it seemed to be a heated argument. They exchanged a few short sentences, and then there was a pause before Neil started speaking again, and he went on for a long time uninterrupted. Whatever it was, Neil clearly didn’t want to have to talk about, and it seemed a struggle for him to force the words out. Bizarrely, halfway through it he started smiling, but it appeared utterly involuntary as Neil lifted a hand to his mouth like he could wipe it away.

Andrew stepped forward right into Neil’s space, and David readied himself to intervene. Andrew said something else — a question, David thought, and as Neil answered he looked and sounded completely defeated, and just. . . tired. David thought he heard Kevin’s name in there somewhere but he had no idea of the context. When Neil stopped talking, Andrew moved Neil’s hand away from his face and the two of them stared each other down for longer than felt comfortable.

They exchanged a few more sentences, but David sensed that the tension in the room had changed. It hadn’t gone entirely, but it felt considerably lighter somehow, and then Andrew suddenly switched back to English to inform Neil they were going back to the dorm to calm down the upperclassmen. The change had happened so fast that David found himself struggling to keep up.

“He can stay here if he wants. I can call Dan to let her know he’s safe,” David said quickly, just so that Neil knew he still had an out if he needed it.

“Neil wants to come with me,” Andrew said, and well, that was that.

David called ahead to Dan after they’d gone just to give her a heads up.

“Neil’s okay?” she asked, concern evident in her tone.

“Considering he hitchhiked and walked all the way from Columbia, yeah, I’d say he’s alright.”

“He did _not_ ,” Dan said with a gasp.

“He fucking did. Stupid kid.”

“And Andrew?”

“They seem to have. . . cleared the air,” David said, unsure of how else to phrase it when he wasn’t even sure what had just happened. He didn’t want to say anything about the German — that wasn’t his secret to tell.

“Cleared the air?” Dan echoed, highly skeptical.

David shrugged even though Dan couldn’t see him. “Ask Neil yourself when he gets there,” he said, knowing full well that Neil wouldn’t explain.

After he hung up, David headed to his office and lit a cigarette, and hoped to never have a day as long as this one ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things:
> 
> \- I didn't know if Abby saying that Neil didn't have any track marks would also go against any confidentiality issues (it probably does) but I left it in there anyway. I didn't think she'd tell David about the scars outright (especially because Neil asked her not to) but I definitely think she'd be shaken enough to allude to something being amiss, and David would for sure pick up on it.
> 
> \- The bit after first pagebreak is based around a scene written in Nora's extra content. I have no idea how to link stuff here but it's this bit: http://courtingmadness.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/all-smiles-and-no-one-remembers-our.html#more  
> It's well worth a read if you haven't seen it already.
> 
> \- And finally thanks to everyone who's kudos'd and commented so far (seriously comments are the best). I know that this might not be the kind of fic everyone wants to read because it's not Andreil focused but if you have read it I hope you enjoy and I hope you stick with it! <3


	4. Chapter 4

David kept a close eye over the situation during practices in the week following Neil’s Columbia adventure, but was cautiously optimistic that the storm seemed to have passed. Sure, Andrew wasn’t even paying that much attention to Neil in general anymore, but that was much more preferable to any behaviour that could tear the team in half. David would take it.

Once he was sure that Neil and Andrew’s tentative truce seemed to be holding, David turned his attention to more pressing matters, one of which was appeasing the ERC. They had bent the rules so that the secret of Neil’s signing could be kept until the day of their first game, but there were caveats to that. For starters, the Foxes had to up their media presence. Kevin was a big name, injury aside, and there was potential for a fortune to be made with him on the team roster; Chuck and the board of directors at PSU wanted David to capitalise on it.

It left a bad taste in David’s mouth; he wanted privacy for his Foxes just as much as they did, but his hands were tied and so he called Kevin into his office one evening after practice.

“What?” Kevin asked sullenly when David motioned for him to sit down.

“Well aren’t you a ray of fucking sunshine,” David said, and ignored Kevin’s responding scowl. He passed Kevin a sheet of paper with a list of names on it. “You need to pick someone to give your first interview to.”

Kevin scanned the list with a furrowed brow. “When do I have to give the interview?”

“When do you _want_ to do it?”

Kevin put the list back on David’s desk. “After the first game — I won’t give an interview before then,” he said, crossing his arms petulantly as if he thought David was going to argue.

“Alright,” David said. “Why not?” It was no skin off David’s nose, but he was curious to know all the same.

“If I do it too soon it gives the media full license to interpret my words however they want and make up their own minds before they’ve even seen me play. If I wait until after, then they’ll have already seen me in action and will know that I can back it up when I say I can still do this. That this is still who I am.” Kevin squeezed his left hand into a fist; David wasn’t sure if he even realised he was doing it.

David gave a brief, hard smile at the resolution in Kevin’s gaze. “Okay. I’ll get in touch with these interviewers and see who’s willing to work around you, but you’ll have the final decision.”

Kevin nodded curtly, but didn’t move from the chair. David made a shooing motion with his hand. “You can get out now,” he said, and Kevin scowled again before leaving.

Once he was alone again, David busied himself firing off emails to the various interviewers, but his thoughts kept returning to Kevin and his clenched fist. It was the most determined and like his usual self David had seen him since finding out about the district change.

It was just a small thing, but David held on to the hope that Kevin could overcome the damage incurred at the Raven’s nest. One step at a time.

* * *

When David had woken up, he’d been in a pretty good mood. The Foxes had lost their opening game, but the margin was relatively narrow and David was too busy looking at the bigger picture to get bogged down by a loss this early. Kevin had reclaimed his spot as a player _on_ the court rather than as an assistant coach _off_ it, and Neil had managed to score twice. It wasn’t much, but it was a glimmer of the potential Kevin saw in him and a big Fuck You to the doubters who thought a rookie as green as Neil could never hold his own on a Class I team. The Foxes were still rough around the edges, but David had never felt more optimistic going into a season before, even with the looming threat of the game against Edgar Allen.

Trying to wrangle his tired team out of bed and onto the bus at one in the morning wasn’t without its difficulties, but David did feel some level of grim amusement at the zombified state they were all in. He’d warned them of the early start after all; it was their own fault if they hadn’t allowed enough time for sleep. Besides, they had the whole bus journey to nap.

Kevin had picked Kathy Ferdinand’s daily show to break his long media silence, as she had been more than willing to wait until after the first game and out of all the choices available Kevin minded her the least. It wasn’t saying a lot, but Kevin had insisted that Kathy was the right way to go; she was a fan of Kevin, and would probably allow him to shine the Foxes in a favourable light. David had deferred to Kevin’s judgment on this one — the Foxes needed all the good publicity they could get.

David hadn’t known that Kathy had asked Kevin to get Neil to join him in the interview, but he supposed it wasn’t that much of a surprise. A striker with no more than a year of experience under his belt attracting the attention of a champion such as Kevin Day was the kind of story media sharks like Kathy lived for, and with how little everyone knew about Neil to begin with it only made him more intriguing. David felt a little bad for Neil having it sprung on him so suddenly, but he didn’t do anything to intervene on Neil’s behalf. This kind of thing wasn’t David’s decision and he didn’t want to pick a side. If Neil didn’t want to do the interview he didn’t have to, but David couldn’t deny that it was exactly the kind of media coverage that Chuck and the ERC had encouraged.

What _was_ a surprise was Neil slipping into furious French, presumably to argue his reluctance in relative privacy. First German, now French, and David had to wonder at what possible need Neil had for them. Extended family, perhaps? So many questions surrounding Neil, and so few answers. David shelved this new information for the time being and refocused his attention to his strikers. Kevin came out of the argument victorious, fixing Kathy with a smile and an emphatic, “It’s settled,” but Neil looked borderline terrified by the prospect of being on TV. David felt a building apprehension and thought that perhaps he should have stepped in after all, but it was too late now. He hoped that Kathy’s questions would stick to Exy, and at least Neil wouldn’t be alone out there — Kevin knew how these things worked and would surely be able to help if Neil started floundering.

Not even an hour later, and David stared up at the stage in silent fury and shock. He held Andrew’s wrist in both hands as he, Renee and Matt had all stepped in to bodily keep Andrew from rushing the stage when Kathy brought out her surprise guest, but there didn’t seem to be as much resistance from the pint-sized goalkeeper as there was initially, because he was just as taken aback as everyone else at what was transpiring in front of them.

Neil — cagey, jittery, skittish Neil, who had looked about five seconds away from having a full-fledged panic attack at the mere thought of having to do an interview — was currently tearing Riko Moriyama a new one on live television. Such antagonism, such _aggression_ that David hadn’t thought Neil capable of, and towards Riko of all people. Where this version of Neil had been hiding all summer, David had no idea, but at the moment he couldn’t find it in himself to blame Neil. He would worry about the repercussions later; right now he was just glad that Kevin had someone in his corner while the rest of them were powerless to help.

Kevin looked a little like a frightened rabbit as he sat opposite someone he had once considered family, but who now represented everything Kevin had lost. His hand gripped tightly around Neil’s arm in what David could only assume was a silent plea to shut up, but Neil wouldn’t. The words just kept spilling out of him and David couldn’t work out who was more shocked: Riko, Kathy, or Kevin.

David glanced at Abby on his left. Her expression — one of abject horror — mirrored David’s own thoughts as he returned his attention to the stage. He thought that Kevin seemed smaller now than he had when he first sat down. Whether or not David was just projecting because he knew the truth, he didn’t know, but surely everyone else watching must have picked up on the abrupt change in Kevin’s demeanour. To David’s mind, Kevin’s fear was a tangible thing, and the sooner they could get out of there the better.

After a few excruciating minutes, it was over and Kathy cut to a commercial. David released Andrew’s wrist and caught Neil’s eye, gesturing to him that it was time to go.

David took a moment to corral the other Foxes and started to herd them out, and it was only then that he realised they’d lost Andrew. David was surprisingly glad he’d gone on ahead — Andrew would make sure Neil and Kevin made it to the exit without anymore problems from Riko.

“Holy shit. I didn’t know Neil had that in him,” Matt said in wonder as they all hurried to catch up.

“Yeah,” Dan agreed. “But where the fuck did that _come_ from?”

Where the fuck indeed.

* * *

David stood in the hallway of Abby’s house feeling lost and helpless, a hollowness inside so prevalent that it physically ached. He could hear Abby murmuring soothing words behind a closed door. Allison had been hysterical when they picked her up from the hospital but had quietened considerably since David and Abby got her back to Abby’s. Now David just hoped she’d be able to go to sleep so that she wouldn’t have to think for a while.

The upperclassmen had already been informed, but Abby had warned them to stay away until morning; she didn’t want Allison to be overwhelmed. That still left five Foxes who didn’t know. Five Foxes who had gone to Columbia even though David distinctly remembered warning Andrew to be smart when they got off the bus. David padded into the kitchen and took out his phone.

It rang four times before Aaron picked up. “Coach. Do you know what time it is?”

“Aaron, Seth died.” David had always been a firm believer in ripping the band-aid off.

“What?”

David sighed — Aaron was clearly drunk, which made this conversation infinitely more difficult. “He overdosed. He’s dead.”

“Wait, what?”

“Listen to me, for fuck’s sake—”

“You’re lying. I don’t believe you!”

There was a rustling on the other side of the phone, and David heard the unmistakable sound of a lighter. It made him itch for a cigarette of his own, but Abby’s was a no-smoking zone. A moment later, Andrew spoke into the phone.

“What do you want?”

“Seth overdosed again. He didn’t make it this time. He’s dead, Andrew.”

“Overdosed like how?”

David felt a jolt go down his spine at the impassiveness of Andrew’s tone. It sounded no different than if he were inquiring after the weather, not the circumstances in which one of his teammates had died. “Someone found him in the bathroom at Bacchus, face-down in his own vomit. Stupid bastard drowned,” David said, and even to his own ears his voice sounded more gruff than usual. David dropped his head into his hand as he heard Andrew speak to someone in the background. “Andrew, listen, I want you and the others back on campus tonight. I want everyone in the same place.”

“No, not a good idea. I’ll call you when we’re back in town.”

“Andrew—” David cut himself off with a sigh. There would be no budging Andrew’s decision. “Fine. But I want you back first thing in the morning.”

Andrew hung up, and David chose to interpret that as acquiescence to David’s request.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed back into the hallway. He could no longer hear anything from behind the door, and he leaned against the wall with his head bowed. His limbs felt heavy with a weariness that left him cold all over; he felt like the last couple of hours had aged him exponentially.

Seth was one of the first players David ever signed, and the only member of the original line-up that had made it to his final year. He’d had a multitude of set-backs due to his intricate and varied problems and he could never quite bring himself to put in the full amount of effort that David knew he was capable of — not to mention that he seemed to be constantly campaigning to be the Foxes least likeable player — but despite it all, he had reached his senior year. Seth was never really a contender to be scouted as a pro-Exy player after college, but David had always had tentative hopes that he would at least make it to graduation.

And he _almost_ had. He had been so, so, close. Less than a year away from the finish line and the opportunity to go out and make something of himself. Now it would never happen; an entire future snuffed out so quickly.

David shoved his hands into his pockets to prevent him from putting his fist through a wall.

He jerked his head up at the sound of a door clicking, and Abby made her way quietly over to him.

“How’s Allison?” David asked hoarsely.

“She’s finally asleep,” Abby said softly. “I think she’s all cried out for now, she's exhausted.”

David nodded mutely. He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried. He didn’t know if he had it in him to do so; he wore his grief in other ways. It was more likely to manifest in anger or relentless pragmatism. For now though, he just felt numb.

It was quiet for a while, the pair of them taking silent comfort from each other, and then David found himself speaking without really meaning to. “He always thought the world was out to get him. He just. . . he never seemed to realise that _he_ was the one standing in his own way, you know?”

“David,” Abby said gently, stepping into his space. He looked at her, and although her watery eyes had yet to overflow, her expression was impossibly sad. She cupped her hand to his cheek and David leaned into it unconsciously. “What can I do? What do you need me to do?”

He lifted his hand to cover hers. “Watch Allison?”

Abby nodded. “Of course.”

David dropped his hand and stepped away from Abby, heading to the door to put his shoes on.

“Where are you going?”

“The stadium. There’s gonna be a tonne of paperwork involved and people to inform, not to mention a media shit-storm. It's going to be a logistical nightmare.” David sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I should get a head-start on all of that.”

“David, you should leave it until the morning. You need to get some sleep.”

“It’s alright, Abby.” He kissed her cheek. “I won’t be able to sleep anyway.”

Abby pursed her lips but made no further complaint, and David stepped out into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of the reason I wanted to write this fic in the first place was purely to write Wymack's reaction to Seth's death. We don't really get to see it in canon because obviously it's Neil's POV and he's struggling with his own guilt and paying more attention to Allison's grief, so all we really know of Wymack is that he's been busy trying to hold the team together and making sure the ERC don't make them forfeit the season now that their already tiny line-up is even smaller.
> 
> Seth was undoubtedly an asshole and no one knew that better than Wymack, and Wymack knew him the longest, but I genuinely think that he would have been devastated by his death. He probably wouldn't let himself dwell on it and he'd throw himself into work as a distraction and a necessity, but I think that at least when it first happens he'd definitely let himself feel it, and Abby's probably the only person he'd be that vulnerable in front of. 
> 
> I also think it's worth mentioning that at this point Wymack doesn't believe that Riko had anything to do with it, especially as Seth had overdosed in the past, so what with the Foxes being a halfway house team for second chancers, I think it's possible that Wymack might have felt like he'd failed Seth -- but that's just conjecture.
> 
> So yeah, that's my two cents. Let me know your thoughts!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took a little longer than I meant it to, but I got majorly stuck.

David hadn’t slept properly in days, and was instead running off the odd cat-nap, caffeine, nicotine, and stubborn willpower. He had a list of problems as long as his arm, and his team weren’t helping. He’d had to separate them after Andrew and Matt got into a nasty fist-fight barely 12 hours after Seth’s death, because god forbid they could actually pull together at a time like this. That was clearly too much to ask.

David got it; emotions were running high for the upperclassmen, who, despite whatever their personal opinions of Seth may have been, were rattled by his death and upset by Allison’s grief. Coming face to face with Andrew who not only didn’t give a shit but was also high as a kite — well, suffice to say, David thought he probably should have anticipated a bust-up.

The rest of Andrew’s lot were shaken too, if not in the same way as the upperclassmen. There had been no love lost between them and Seth, but he was still a person — a person they _knew_ — and now he was gone.

The reaction that David found the most perplexing was Neil’s. He’d been able to keep a fairly close eye on his rookie striker as he was sleeping on David’s sofa until the upperclassmen moved back to the dorms. David didn’t want Neil in his suite alone no matter how much Neil insisted he was fine (a word that very much seemed to be one of Neil’s favourites), but fine or no, it didn’t sit right with David to have Neil stay there by himself when one of his roommates had just died. So David’s sofa it was.

Neil was borderline apathetic about Seth’s death, which was a worrying sign to begin with, but it wasn’t just that. There was something else underneath it all, behind Neil's mask; it wasn’t grief, it wasn’t sadness — Neil hadn’t liked Seth enough for it to be that — but it was _something_  for sure, something David couldn’t pinpoint. He didn’t know what to make of it, and knew better than to try and ask. Getting Neil to open up was like getting blood from a stone, and right now, David had bigger things to worry about.

He had a line-up to sort out, he had a team to unite, he had to somehow convince the ERC that this didn’t mean the end of the Foxes season, and he had to do it all incredibly quickly. Plus it was now Wednesday, there was a game on Friday, and David couldn’t put off practices any longer.

That morning before heading over to the stadium, David had stopped by Abby’s to check on Allison, who was, for want of a better word, catatonic. But at least she was being well taken care of.

“She still won’t talk to Betsy?” David asked Abby on his way back out again.

Abby shook her head. “No, but then she’s barely talking to anyone at all. It’s early days. Maybe we can talk her into it in the next few days.”

“Maybe,” David said with a frown, but he was doubtful. “Well, I’m off. Don’t let them be late for practice later, we’re behind enough as it is.”

“Sure. But, hey, David?”

“Hm?”

“Were you going to say anything to the team later? About Seth?”

“Well, yeah, I’ll have to. It’s sort of the elephant in the room, isn’t it.”

“Do you know what you’re going to say?”

David shrugged. “I was gonna wing it.” Abby pursed her lips and David raised an eyebrow. “No?”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. “I wrote something down for you. You can read that if you want.”

“Abby—”

“Just take it, David. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas, if nothing else.”

David reached out and pocketed the piece of paper. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

At the stadium, after making and taking a multitude of phonecalls, David finally took out Abby’s speech and read it while he was waiting for the Foxes to arrive. It was. . . nice. It was full of the stuff you’d expect to be said in times like these. It was pretty words. But there was absolutely no way that David could read it to the team.

It wouldn’t sound right coming from David, and the Foxes weren’t really the right crowd for a speech like that anyway, especially when most of them hadn’t been able to stand Seth in the first place. Allison was the one who would miss Seth the most, and even though she wouldn’t be here today, David didn’t think she’d like Abby’s speech much either.

Abby’s heart, as ever, was in the right place. But David couldn’t and _wouldn’t_ coddle his team. It was his job to get them moving and fighting, no matter how he did it, even if it made him unpopular.

“Sorry, Abby,” he murmured, and ripped up her speech.

* * *

 

Practice had gone better on Thursday. It was callous to say, but without Seth inciting arguments or brawls all over the place, the team was running as a more cohesive unit, even if they did seem reticent to mention it out loud. Andrew had shown up today same as ever, no mention of the mysterious phonecall from Officer Higgins the day before, so David hoped that whatever it was, it wouldn’t interfere with his practice again. Another surprising turn of events from Wednesday had been the revelation that Andrew seemed to have now claimed Neil as one of his own, which was bizarre for several reasons, but mainly because David had been pretty sure that Andrew didn’t like Neil. Neil had assured David that he still didn’t, but it was interesting, to say the least. How it would effect the team as a whole going forward remained to be seen, but the fact that Neil got along with the upperclassmen just fine was promising.

David called Dan into his office after practice so that she could help him with the line-up. He couldn’t get them a sub; there wasn’t enough time. But he now had a rookie striker that had just been bumped up to a starting position and who had never played a full half before, and a not quite healed Kevin Day who had played full halves but wasn’t yet back to a place where he could do it again. And David needed to somehow figure out a way to fix the line-up that would enable him to work the strikers up to playing full games, which was going to be horrendous, but what choice did they have?

“What’s up, Coach?” Dan asked when she entered the office, shutting the door behind her.

“The line-up. How the fuck are we going to work this?”

Dan sat down. “What have you got so far?”

David sighed. “Fuck all.” He took out a piece of paper and wrote down everyone's names in block letters, minus the goal-keepers. “This is what we have to work with. Any ideas?”

Dan looked at the names for a moment, brow furrowed in concentration. “Have Kevin and Neil both start, then I can sub in for one of them, start the second half, and sub out for the other one.”

David added this to his sheet of paper, then frowned. “Then who’s going to sub for Allison?”

Dan’s face fell. “Oh. Shit.”

“Shit is right.” David rubbed a hand down his face, exhausted.

After half an hour of working and re-working the line-up, Dan had a sudden realisation. “Hey,” she said. “Renee played defense in middle school.”

David sat up straight. “Do you think she’d be willing to fill in for a while?”

“I’ll ask her. But I reckon she’ll do it. That way she can sub for Allison.”

David took out a blank page and wrote down the updated plan. It was horrible, but just about do-able, and David gave a grim smile. “Well, this is literally the only way we can pull this off, so it’ll have to do.”

“Wait, Coach, what about Andrew?”

“I’m going to have to ask him to play a full game, is what.”

Dan shook her head. “He won’t. He _can’t_ , he’ll get sick. Not even Andrew can fight off withdrawal that long.”

David thought about it. “I’ll ask him to hold the line however he can, whether that means he’ll end up taking his dose at half time or not, and I’ll pick him up some whiskey for his trouble.”

“You’re gonna bribe him?”

David waved a hand dismissively. “He doesn’t need to be bribed. Let’s call it a thank you.”

“We don’t even know if he’ll do it yet.”

David shrugged, even though he was pretty sure he would. David cut Andrew more than enough slack as it was, and Andrew knew that — it was probably enough for him to give David a break. “I guess we’ll see.”

Dan looked highly doubtful, but it wasn’t like she had a better idea. “You need me for anything else, Coach?”

“No, you can go.” Dan got up and made for the door. “Oh, wait,” he said, and Dan whirled around. “Neil seems to be on team Andrew now. What do we think, good thing? Bad thing?”

“We’ve got more of an in with Neil than we did with Kevin, and I swear, there’s just something _about_ that kid. He’s not scared of Andrew, but now that he’s riding with the monsters but still hanging out with us, too? I’m optimistic. Sort of.”

“Sort of optimistic,” David echoed. “Well, that’s better than being up shit creek. Get out of here, Dan. Talk to Renee and let me know what she says. Do _not_ mention this bullshit line-up to any of the others — I’ll tell them when there’s not enough time for them to bitch at me for too long about it.”

Dan laughed. “Got it, Coach.”

* * *

 

David said his piece to the press, then headed towards the nurse’s office where he had left Abby’s travel bag. He was fiercely proud of his tiny team, Allison in particular tonight, who had fought with more determination than David had ever seen her put forth. And it was still less than a week since Seth had died; if David had any doubts that she was unfit to play, they were definitely assuaged now.

David intercepted Andrew tottering out of the bathroom looking like death incarnate, and swiftly ushered him along to the nurse’s office. Andrew slumped in the corner and David passed him Abby’s bag, which Andrew promptly upended, and made a grab for his medicine bottle. He got it open with shaking hands, nonplussed that they spilled all over the floor, and he shoved one in his mouth. David watched as Andrew reached for the bottle of scotch Abby had packed for him, opened it, and downed a decent amount alarmingly quickly.

David perched on the bed and took in Andrew’s wretched state; the sheen on his skin as he fought off nausea, the tight grip he had of the bottle in his hand as he waited for his meds to kick in. Why he would willingly put himself through this was a mystery David wasn’t sure he’d ever understand.

“You could have dosed up at half-time, you know,” David said. Andrew didn’t respond, probably because he already knew that and didn’t want to waste his breath. Instead, he took another giant swig of scotch. It was almost half empty already. “Can you really keep doing this every time we have a game, Andrew?”

Andrew shot David a disparaging look that would have been more effective if Andrew didn’t also look violently ill. David just interpreted it as a yes and threw up his hands in mock surrender.

“Good game, by the way,” he said after a moment, and Andrew rolled his eyes.

David _almost_ laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

In the run-up to the fall banquet David had held a vote, and much to his inner delight, the team unanimously decided not to stick around for the second day, instead choosing to leave on the Saturday night. It would be a lot of driving, but David didn’t mind; schmoozing with the other teams in the district wasn’t exactly his idea of a fun night out. The added stress of knowing the Ravens would be there and the strain it would put on Kevin just made it a night David couldn’t wait to get out of the way.

When they finally arrived at Blackwell University, David strode down towards Kevin and Andrew, sending the others off the bus as he did so. Neil, unsurprisingly, stayed where he was — David had noticed him lingering near Kevin and Andrew with increasing frequency since the events of Kathy’s show. David let him stay while Kevin glugged down vodka like his life depended on it, but when he had the bottle back, he shot Neil a look until he got the hint and left the bus.

Andrew was still hanging over the back of Kevin’s seat, a cheerful smile on his face as he followed Kevin’s desperate gaze to the bottle that was now back in David’s hand.

“Are you ready, Kevin?” he asked, bright and mocking.

“No,” Kevin replied, and Andrew laughed.

“Can’t be helped, I’m afraid. We’re here now.”

“Hey,” David said to Kevin. “Look at me.”

Kevin’s eyes drifted to David’s face; the poor kid looked terrified. The last time he was at an ERC sanctioned event, Riko broke his hand.

“This won’t be like last time,” David continued. “You stay by Andrew, you hear me?”

Kevin nodded.

“Don’t let Riko separate you, don’t go anywhere alone with him, and stay in the main banquet area at all times unless you’re with me, or Andrew, or Abby. Got it?”

The vodka seemed to slowly start calming Kevin’s nerves, because he rolled his eyes at that. “I’m not an idiot,” he said flatly.

“That’s the spirit. Now let’s go get this over with so we can get the fuck out of here.”

***

Before they had entered the Exy court that was serving as the banquet hall, David had warned Neil to behave, which shouldn’t really have been a big ask but David still felt apprehensive. Even more so when Abby sidled up to him, politely excused him from his conversation with Blackwell’s coach, and said, low and urgent, “Look at where they’ve been seated.”

David looked over her shoulder and quickly picked out the orange chairs where his Foxes were just starting to sit down, opposite the oppressive black of the Ravens.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he muttered, and Abby put her hand on his arm.

“What should we do?”

David sighed; nothing could ever be simple. “We just hope they can all be civil for long enough to get through the meal, then they’re free to go off and mingle and can stay away from the Ravens.”

“But. . . Kevin—”

“Will be fine,” David interrupted. “He’s sitting right next to Andrew. He’ll be fine. They’re in full view of all the other teams in the district, Riko can’t do anything.”

Abby didn’t look convinced, but honestly, David wasn’t either. He returned to the other coaches, Abby in tow, and radiated quiet anger on behalf of his team. He just had to trust that they could all keep cool heads — or that Dan, at least, could keep them under control.

Mere _minutes_ later, someone tapped on David’s shoulder and he whirled around to see Matt standing there, eyes wide. David swore internally and he and Abby stepped away from the other coaches yet again.

“What _happened_?” he asked gruffly, already knowing that whatever Matt was about to tell him would age him prematurely.

“Uhhh, Neil _might_ have said something to Riko,” Matt said awkwardly.

David closed his eyes for a second to try and ward off his incoming migraine. “Of fucking course he did, the mouthy little bastard. What the fuck did he say?”

“A _lot_ , too much for me to quote you the whole damn thing. He definitely mentioned daddy issues, though, and he finished the whole thing off by telling Riko to shut the fuck up and leave us alone,” Matt said, and then he grinned. “It was amazing, Coach, you should’ve seen it.”

“Jesus Christ,” David said. “Abby, go and find the event coordinators and get them to find us some new seats. Matt, let’s go.”

He followed Matt over to the Foxes’ table and came to a stop behind Neil’s chair. “What the hell is going on over here?” No answer was forthcoming, but Jean Moreau began speaking to Riko in Japanese, and after a moment, Kevin tentatively joined the conversation, but David had had enough. “On your feet. Abby is talking to the event coordinators about finding us a new table.”

Neil stood up immediately, but Jean said something in rapid French, causing Neil to freeze momentarily and Kevin made a noise that made David’s blood run cold even though he had no idea of the context; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Neil pushed Kevin back away from the table, and as the Foxes all hurried off to find Abby, David turned his attention back to the Ravens, Riko in particular, who was eying David with an contemptuous gaze.

“That new striker of yours has quite a mouth on him,” Riko remarked coldly.

“Yeah, he tends to get like that when provoked,” David said, refusing to drop eye contact. If Riko thought he could intimidate David, he was dead wrong. Riko was nothing but a bully — a bully with a lot of power and resources at his disposal, but a bully all the same.

“Coach Wymack, that almost sounds like an accusation,” Riko said, the hint of a cruel smile playing about the corner of his mouth.

“If the shoe fits,” David shot back.

“It is not my fault that child has such a nasty temper. Someone should really teach him some manners,” he said. It sounded suspiciously like a threat.

“You know, it’s funny, I was just going to say the same thing about _you_ ,” David said, and then turned away before he said anything else. He could hardly get angry at Neil for snapping if he couldn’t keep a handle on his own anger.

He started across the re-purposed court looking for his team, and soon caught sight of Abby who waved him over to where the Foxes had been seated, swapping places with some of the coaches. When Abby was sure he’d seen them, she disappeared with Kevin — presumably somewhere he could drink his weight in vodka without being seen — and David made a beeline for Neil.

He got there in time to hear Andrew, tilted back in his chair, say, “I told you so,” tauntingly to Neil.

“Sit down, Minyard,” he snapped, before turning a glare on Neil. “Did you or did you not tell me you weren’t going to start a fight?"

Nicky cut in before Neil had a chance to respond. “In Neil’s defense—”

“I didn’t ask you. Neil, talk to me.”

David took in Neil’s posture, his expression — like he’d seen a ghost — and still knew he was missing some very important pieces. Neil’s eyes darted to the exits a couple of times, but they wouldn’t focus on anything for very long. David’s anger evaporated into concern in the face of someone who evidently wanted to be anywhere else but here. “Neil, if you can’t be here say so. Abby can take you elsewhere until it’s time to leave. Get out of here and get some fresh air.”

Neil took way too long to answer what was a simple question, but he got there in the end. “No. I knew this was going to happen. I just wasn’t ready for it. I’m fine.”

“What can I do?” David asked, a weariness settling over him at the look of surprise in Neil’s face when he looked up, like the mere concept of someone offering assistance was foreign to him. Someone had done a real number on this kid and one of these days, David was going to find out who it was.

“I don’t know,” Neil said at last, and to David’s ears it sounded like the most honest thing Neil had ever said.

“When you know, tell me.”

“Yes, Coach.”

* * *

 

David dropped Neil off at the stadium and then drove away, replaying their conversation from breakfast over in his mind. Despite Neil being an expert deflector David still felt like he was a little closer to understanding Neil, he just didn’t know quite how all the pieces added up yet.

The theories about Neil’s parents being abusive had been all but confirmed, if not in so many words. Neil’s comment about David’s age being the reason it was instinctive to flinch away from him, whereas Riko was close to Neil's age meaning that Neil didn't have an ingrained fear of him, also explained why Neil hadn’t been afraid of Andrew when he had first arrived at Palmetto despite him being a very real danger.

Another confirmation, although not one David had really expected to get, was Neil saying, “It’s what I was raised to be,” to the suggestion that he was a pathological liar. David already _knew_ that Neil had been lying, he just didn’t specifically know what about. It was just that liars didn’t usually _admit_ to being liars. Neil was a walking contradiction.

The best liars always threw a bit of truth in with their lies, and David was starting to get the impression that Neil was a very good liar indeed. And yet David still wanted him on the team. He liked Neil, and he worried about him, and whatever he was lying about was clearly very, very important. Not to mention it was almost certainly none of David’s business.

Nevertheless he had needed Neil to understand that his words and his actions when it came to Riko Moriyama had consequences not just for him but for the rest of the team as well, which was how David found out that Neil was under the impression Seth’s death was his fault following his stunt on Kathy's show.

It was Andrew who had planted that idea, naturally, but it made David feel sick that Neil had been carrying around that kind of guilt. He remembered Neil’s demeanour in the days after Seth died, the something _else_ behind the blank mask that David couldn’t identify, and he thought he now had his answer.

David didn’t believe that Riko was behind Seth’s overdose — because he _couldn’t_ be, surely not — but even on the slightest chance he was, David absolutely couldn’t have Neil blaming himself. That was too dangerous a hole to fall down. David told him as much and Neil had given his standard, “Yes, Coach,” which David didn’t believe for a second, but there wasn’t really anything else he could say.

David got back to his apartment and tried to focus on the rest of his day, but he couldn’t get that unsettled feeling out of his stomach. The banquet had been even more hellish that David had been anticipating, Neil clearly didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, and the match with the Ravens was fast approaching.

And fucking Andrew with his fucking crackpot theories that David really could have done without knowing. Seth’s death was tragic, but it was down to his own actions, it _had_ to be. Because the alternative — the alternative that Andrew was right and Riko had orchestrated it merely to bump Neil into a starting position — was too intolerable to think about.

And now David couldn’t get it out of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wymack: neil, I want to help you.  
> neil: okay...that sounds fake, but okay.
> 
> jesus someone give that kid a hug.


	7. Chapter 7

The run up to the game against the Ravens saw David’s tiny team gain victory after victory; narrow wins, sloppy wins, sure, but a win was still a win at the end of the day. Every game saw Neil and Kevin manage a little longer on the court, and everyone’s stamina was improving exponentially. Playing matches this way was the most extensive training regimen David could imagine, and it was all out of necessity. The stakes had never been so high, and the Foxes were taking it all in stride, just like David knew they could.

The week leading up to the Ravens match was hellish. The buzz on campus was bad enough — pep rallies and other events meaning that there was no escape, no downtime, no reprieve from the knowledge that on Friday the Ravens would be at Palmetto State. It was going to be Kevin versus Riko for the first time — at least publicly — and the press were _everywhere_ , looking for any sound-bite from the team they could get their hands on. David’s number one aim was to keep Neil as far away from anyone with a microphone as humanly possible, because any trust he had ever had in Neil to just keep his goddamn mouth shut had all but disappeared and he wasn’t taking any chances. Not with Kevin’s nerves hanging on by a thread. Interestingly enough, Andrew also seemed to be keeping an eye on the mouthy rookie striker. From a distance, of course — his main concern, as ever, was Kevin — but it was enough that David had noticed and then filed away that information in case it became relevant in the future.

Every day, Kevin said less and less as Friday’s game loomed over them all like a storm-cloud they couldn’t avoid; they just had to wait for it to break over them and ride it out. No one expected the Foxes to win, and they couldn’t — everyone knew it. The aim was to just to give the Ravens one hell of a run for their money, and try to minimise the damage. It wouldn’t usually be the best mindset to have going into a game, but it was David’s job to be realistic about their chances, and they were all painfully aware of who they were going up against. This game was personal for all of them, not just for Kevin, even if he was the only one the media gave a crap about. The Ravens had made it clear at the banquet how much of a joke they found David’s team to be, and the Foxes were — quite rightly — angry.

So no, they couldn’t win. But they could _fight_ ; it was what the Foxes did best, after all.

Dan had been an absolute godsend, strong and supportive of her team and a consummate professional in front of the cameras, picking up the slack as Kevin became slightly more jittery as the week progressed. But the sudden support she and her team were getting thanks to their strong start to the season was clearly rattling her. She had become accustomed to ridicule and abuse during her first three years as captain, and now that she was in her fourth and was receiving support instead, David couldn’t blame her for feeling unsettled.

David found her at the stadium Thursday afternoon, sitting on the sofa in silence and staring blankly at the wall. She looked lost in thought, and he wondered for a moment if he should leave her alone, but he’d never been able to turn his back on Dan before; he wouldn’t start now. He could listen if she needed to talk.

“Dan?” he said, and her head jerked up and towards him. He went over and sat on the coffee table in front of her. “Were you waiting for me?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I just. . .” she trailed off and gestured helplessly.

“Needed a break?” David surmised, and Dan exhaled shakily.

“Something like that.”

“I hear you, kid. Every time I turn around there’s something else, and the press? Fucking vultures, the lot of them.”

“It’s not just them,” Dan said. “It’s — I’m used to people just shitting all over us, and right now we’ve been winning and all of a sudden, people _care_ and there’s an expectation now that there wasn’t before. Don’t get me wrong,” she cut an anxious look to David, “I can handle pressure. I believe in my team and I know that we’re good and that we can be _great_ , and I know that tomorrow night we’re gonna go out there and make Riko have to work — _really_ work — for every goal. But I also know that we’re not going to win. And where does that leave us with all the people who’ve suddenly started supporting us?”

Dan shook her head and looked away, clearly agitated, and David waited her out; she obviously wasn’t done.

“People won’t care about how hard we fight, or how much better we are now, or how tiny our team is compared to the Ravens. All they care about is results. So when we lose, are we just gonna be right back where we started? Fair-weather fans just turning their backs on us yet again?”

“You wanna know what I think?” David asked, and Dan nodded. “Fuck ‘em.”

That startled a laugh out of Dan.

“I mean it,” he said earnestly. “You’re right; they’re fair-weather fans and they’re all caught up in how well you’ve been doing and the hype over the Ravens match. There is a very good chance that we lose and then all their support dissolves into jeers and taunting again. So fuck ‘em. Just play. Anyone who’s paying attention will see your progress for what it is, and those are the ones that’ll stay. And gradually — so gradually that you won’t even notice it happening — that support will start building up, and then even the flighty ones will come crawling back. You don’t owe them anything, Dan. Just believe in your team, and believe in yourself, like I do.”

Dan smiled. “You still believe in me, Coach?”

David nodded sagely. “You know I do. Just play the game. Everything else will follow after.”

“Just play the game, huh?” Dan said, and then her signature mischievous grin was back. “Well, that I can do. Thanks, Coach.”

“What for?” David shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. Now get out of here before some asshole with a microphone shows up.”

“Going, Coach.”

* * *

 

When the final buzzer sounded the end of the game, David watched his exhausted team slowly make their way towards the goal, and witnessed Neil stop and look up at the scoreboard. When he hesitated there just a moment too long to be merely reading the score, David followed his gaze up until he saw what had no doubt had caught Neil’s attention. Out of one hundred and fifty shots made on goal, only thirteen had made it past Andrew. The court doors were opened to let the subs file on and join their teammates, and David stepped into the doorway alongside Abby. David’s eyes flickered towards his goal-keeper, who was sitting on the floor next to the racquet he could no longer get a good enough grip on to keep hold of. Evidence not only of a match fiercely fought, but also of the toll withdrawal had taken on Andrew, exacerbated by how hard he had been pushed; how much he had _given_.

David allowed himself one small, grim smile. 13-6. It wasn’t a good point gap — the worst the Foxes had ever had, actually — but then again they had never had to play the Ravens before. The team from a year ago probably wouldn’t have even made it onto the scoreboard at all. And with this game, the Foxes had proved to David that they were now where he needed them to be.

Kevin and Neil had played a full game against the number one team in Class I Exy, so they could do it against the other teams without a problem. This meant that Renee could finally go back in the goal where she was comfortable, and Andrew could stop making himself sick week in, week out.

David stepped back off the court and was immediately cornered by reporters.

“Coach Wymack, after having such an impressive run, you must be disappointed to see that come to an end. Any comments on tonight’s devastating loss?”

“Devastating loss, eh?” David shook his head and in his periphery he caught sight of his team heading back off the court, Andrew swiftly and subtly being ushered forward by Renee. “You can’t have been watching as closely as I was then. My team played better than ever tonight, and they know that even if you failed to notice. Excuse me.”

He stepped away from the reporters and followed his team to the locker room. It was time for a debrief. And then it was time to go to Abby’s and celebrate like they’d won. The Foxes deserved to let off some steam. And _fuck_ , David needed a drink.

* * *

 

Another Friday, another win, and David had never seen the Foxes clean up and tear out of the stadium so fast before. He knew that Andrew’s lot would be heading to Columbia, but he didn’t have an explanation for the rest of the team. He managed to catch Dan just as she was heading for the door, the last out after her teammates.

“Where’s the fire?” he asked, and Dan halted, shooting a look over her shoulder.

“Halloween party tonight in Columbia, Coach. We’ve gotta get ready!”

“Oh, have fu— wait, _Columbia_?”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re going with Andrew?”

“Yeah,” Dan said, then crinkled her nose. “Weird, right? Neil asked him if he could invite us, and I guess Andrew thought we wouldn’t wanna go because of everything with Matt last year so said he could. Probably thought nothing would come of it and he wouldn’t have to follow through.” Dan shrugged. “A party’s a party, though, and if Matt’s happy to go then so am I.”

David frowned, struggling to process what he was hearing, but let it go with a wave of his hand. “Alright, well be safe, all of you. Don’t kill each other.”

Dan grinned. “We’ll try our best, Coach,” she said, then took off after everyone else.

David thought about it the whole drive back to Abby’s. With the exception of Renee, Andrew had never made an effort to spend any time with the upperclassmen outside of practices and games, so the fact that he would suddenly U-turn on that stance was baffling on all levels. Not least because the only reason he seemed to have done it was because Neil had asked him.

Dan had said, back when Andrew first brought Neil within his circle, that she was optimistic for what that could mean in terms of uniting the team as a whole. This was the first tangible benefit that David had seen from the arrangement. He was under no illusions that the expansive divide between Andrew’s lot and the upperclassmen was something that could be fixed. They were too fundamentally different, from their backgrounds down to how they viewed the world. But David didn’t need them to be best friends. He didn’t even need them to necessarily understand each other. He just needed Andrew to offer a tiny amount of leeway; enough that the team as a whole could be civil towards each other and work together, even if they weren’t making each other friendship bracelets and braiding each others hair. David just wanted them all to be on the same side.

That Andrew would extend an invitation for the upperclassmen to come to Columbia with them when part of the appeal of going in the first place was no doubt that it got them away from everyone else for the night, was the first sign that Andrew was capable of throwing his teammates a bone. And all because Neil had _asked_.

Interesting didn’t even begin to cover it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think in the next chapter I have to figure out how to cover Wymack's reaction to the Drake situation and I'm not ready, I don't even know where to start ahhhhh :( wish me luck!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is like twice as long as the others because I really didn't want to cut it in half -- it all belongs together I think. The last section lifts a fair bit of dialogue right from the book because I thought it was relevant. I've upped the rating to teen and up because in fairness there is a lot of swearing, and obviously this is the drake chapter so, yeah, all drake related warnings apply.
> 
> that being said, I think I'm pretty proud of this chapter? give me a few days to sit on it and I'm sure I'll hate it, ha.

David parked the bus back at the stadium after a long drive and made private plans to sleep the majority of what was left of the weekend away. He preferred driving the Foxes to and from away games himself, of course, but that didn’t make it any less exhausting for him and Abby.

Everyone filed off the bus except Kevin, who came right up to David and held his hand out expectantly. “I need the team p-card,” he said.

“What for?”

“We’ll be in Columbia tomorrow and I’m taking Neil to Exites. I’m getting him a heavy racquet.”

David raised an eyebrow. “A heavy? You think he can handle it?”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t think he could, I wouldn’t suggest it.”

David acquiesced with a shrug; Kevin didn’t like to waste his time, and if he said Neil should have a heavy, then Neil would get a heavy. Kevin’s Exy instincts were never wrong. David took out his wallet and thumbed through the various cards. He half expected the p-card to be missing — Dan swiped it often enough — but he found it eventually and handed it over to Kevin.

As Kevin put it in his own wallet, David looked out of the open door of the bus and saw Andrew’s car across the parking lot, Nicky behind the wheel, Aaron and Neil in the back, and Andrew leaning against the rear passenger side door, smoking a cigarette as he waited for Kevin. “I’m surprised you talked Andrew into making a trip out to Columbia on a Sunday for something Exy related,” David mused.

“Oh, believe me, Exites is just the silver lining. This was _not_ my idea,” Kevin said, furrowing his brow in irritation.

“Then what are you going for?”

Kevin sighed. “We’re having lunch with Nicky’s parents.”

Now _that_ was unexpected. David admittedly didn’t know all that much about the complicated web that was the cousins family history, but he _did_ know that Nicky’s parents didn’t talk to him anymore, and that Andrew had nothing good to say about them. (He didn’t even want to _touch_ upon the probably true rumours that Andrew was behind the car-crash that killed the twins’ mother.) David ran through all the information he had and narrowed his concerns down to one succinct question. “ _Why_?”

“Fuck if I know, Coach. Family bonding?” Kevin shook his head, the very idea of it alien to him. “Nicky’s mom called and wanted them all to come over for Thanksgiving, conditional on the twins coming too, so Nicky went running off to Neil to see if he could talk Andrew into it. Andrew said that he’d go providing the date was moved and that Neil and I could come too.”

“So Andrew agreed just like that, because Neil asked?” David said, then immediately waved a hand dismissively. “What am I saying, of course he did.”

The knowing look in Kevin’s eye suggested that he, too, had noticed Andrew’s peculiar compliance when it came to Neil. Not that it was subtle, the whole team had probably clocked it, and Nicky definitely had considering enlisting Neil’s help had been his first thought.

“At least it’s just for lunch. We’ll be back by night time, and we can get Neil started on practicing with his new racquet,” Kevin said, no doubt more excited about the prospect of Neil’s new gear than Neil himself.

“You’re going to have to put your public face on,” David said dryly. “You’ll have to smile and be polite and everything.”

Kevin scowled and started stomping off the bus.

“Try and make sure everyone behaves themselves!” David called after him, and Kevin shrugged, which David took to mean _how the fuck am I supposed to do that?_ — a fair question.

At the very least, Neil would be there to rein Andrew in, and David had no doubt that he could. He just wasn’t sure if Neil understood _why_ he could. It seemed so unlikely that there would be anything between Andrew and Neil — it didn’t really make any sense. It would maybe explain why Andrew kept giving ground to Neil, though. But Andrew wouldn’t appreciate any speculation into his and Neil’s relationship — whatever the nature of it was — and hell, it wasn’t any of David’s business anyway.

Best just to keep out of it. Not his paygrade.

* * *

 

Kevin’s initial phonecall was short and confused; the barest bones of a situation that _he_ didn’t yet understand, and thus was clearly ill-equipped to explain it to David.

What he did manage to convey, however, was panic and fear, and it was more than enough to get David moving.

_“Coach, we need you in Columbia, Andrew’s been. . . hurt. Someone hurt him. And Aaron. . . I don’t — I can’t. . . It’s — oh, god, you have to come.”_

The second phonecall, received on the drive to Columbia, had slightly more information, although David was still struggling to tie it all together into something he could process without feeling sick. He wasn’t sure that was entirely possible.

Andrew, attacked — _raped_ — by a former foster-brother, and apparently not for the first time. Concussed and beaten black and blue and on his way to the hospital. Aaron, arrested, a dead body on the end of Neil’s new racquet that he had used in defense of his brother.

David was glad that he’d thought to grab a clean change of clothes for Andrew before leaving. He wasn’t sure exactly what state Andrew would be in, but he didn’t think it would be pretty. His hands clenched on the steering wheel, knuckles white with ill-concealed rage.

Abby, from the passenger seat beside him, broke the silence. “I called Betsy,” she said. “She’ll meet us at the cousins house.”

David sighed. It made sense; Betsy needed to know, and she would have found out eventually anyway, but David didn’t think Andrew would be overly impressed at the fact that his business was now very much out in the open.

Abby flicked her eyes over to David when he didn’t immediately respond. “You don’t think I should have called her,” she said, not quite a question.

“It’s not that. You made the right decision on that one, I think. No one’s better suited to talk to Andrew right now than Betsy is, I know that. Andrew just won’t like it, is all,” he said.

“A lot of stuff that Andrew won’t like has already happened today. This should barely be a blip on his radar,” Abby said sadly, and David found himself reaching for her hand across the middle console. Abby gripped it tightly and gazed straight ahead, her eyes fierce and furious.

“Just so you know, when Andrew bitches to me about Betsy being there — and he _will_ — I’m totally throwing you under the bus,” David said, and the corner of Abby’s mouth curled up, just a tiny amount, just for a second, and then it was gone again.

“This has happened before,” she said, “and we didn’t even know about it. I feel like we should have known.”

“Andrew didn’t want us to know,” David replied in a tone as gentle as he could muster, but he knew where she was coming from. He had recruited Andrew; he knew Andrew was a foster kid, he knew Andrew had spent three years in juvie, he knew about the violence that had led to Andrew being medicated. But _this_. . . there was nothing on this.

“What’s going to happen with Aaron?” Abby asked after a moment.

“They should give him a fuckin’ medal, is what,” David said gruffly.

“David. . .”

He sighed. “I don’t know. We get him a lawyer. And we hope for the best.”

* * *

 

David went to the police station first. It didn’t take long to find Kevin and Nicky sitting in the waiting room when they got there. Nicky was leaning forward in his chair, forearms braced just above his knees, hands knotted together. He was staring forward blankly, shivering slightly and looking older than David had ever seen him. He was a shell.

Kevin stood up as soon as he spotted David and Abby, utter relief crossing his face.

“Coach,” he said, in lieu of a greeting.

“I’m here,” David said. “Now tell me again — what the _fuck_ happened?”

It wasn’t any easier hearing it in person, and as Kevin spoke, Nicky lowered his head into his hands and covered his ears. Abby went and sat beside him, put an arm around his shoulders and murmured something too quietly for David to hear. He snapped his attention back to Kevin, who was wrapping up the story.

“Andrew obviously wouldn’t talk to the cops but Neil wouldn’t either, he wouldn’t even tell them his name, I had to do it. They’ve labeled him. . .” Kevin trailed off as he searched for the term, then he crooked his fingers in air quotes, “a ‘hostile witness’.”

David groaned. “Sounds about right.”

“I wanted to go to the hospital but Neil wouldn’t let me and went on his own. He said I’d draw too much attention.”

David nodded. “Smart kid,” he said, then headed over to the desk to get an update on Aaron.

After speaking briefly with the police officer behind the desk, David headed back to the others in the waiting room.

“It doesn’t look like Aaron’s getting out anytime tonight. We’ll see about sorting out a lawyer and hopefully we can get Aaron out tomorrow."

“Waterhouse,” Nicky croaked out, speaking for the first time since David and Abby had arrived.

“Huh?”

“Waterhouse. He’s Andrew’s lawyer — he’ll probably take Aaron’s case.”

“Abby?” David said.

She nodded. “I’ll get Betsy on it as soon as she gets here.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go to the hospital to find Neil and wait on Andrew. Should I drop you guys off first?”

“That’s okay, Coach, we’ll get a cab. You should go, they might be done with Andrew soon, and Neil’s been waiting on his own,” Nicky said.

David hesitated, then nodded. Abby still had a comforting arm around Nicky, so David clasped a hand to Kevin’s shoulder briefly on his way out. Then he went back to his car and started the drive to the hospital.

Nicky had started this day hoping for a reconciliation with his parents, and now he was left standing in the rubble of a family that was more fractured than ever before. Nicky’s father, who had belittled Andrew’s claims when he told him about Drake — who was probably the reason why Andrew had never bothered trying to tell anyone _else_ about it — had then invited this predator into his home and orchestrated a situation in which Drake and Andrew could be alone together. A situation that Andrew should never have been in in the first place, because he didn’t even want to _be_ there. He was only there because he was talked into it by _Neil_ , who in turn had been talked into it by _Nicky_.

There was going to be guilt flying about all over the place between Nicky and Neil, and a fat lot of good it did anybody, least of all Andrew.

What a mess. What a colossal, horrifying mess.

* * *

 

David stood still for a moment, watching Neil’s back disappear as he sprinted away down the road, then turned and headed into the house. He couldn’t fault Neil for his need to escape; not when Neil had seen what had happened to Andrew, what Aaron had done to protect Andrew on instinct. Not when Andrew, through the haze of his medication, was refusing to let what had happened touch him, that damn smile a near permanent fixture on his face. David didn’t know if the meds were preventing Andrew from truly registering what had happened, or if he _did_ register, but was just so far gone that he didn’t care.

One of these was the lesser evil, but David couldn’t figure out which one it was.

He followed voices into the kitchen where Andrew was chatting away to Betsy, who was preparing several mugs of cocoa. David’s entrance distracted Andrew, and he peered behind David.

“No Neil?”

“He ran off. He’ll be back once he’s calmed down, no doubt.”

Andrew started laughing. “Oh, how predictable. Neil, running off in Columbia. It’s like déjà vu.” He picked up one of the mugs off the counter and left the kitchen, his footsteps becoming quieter as he headed upstairs, presumably to his bedroom.

David exhaled slowly and leaned back against the breakfast bar, running a hand down his face.

“Is Neil alright?” Betsy asked.

“No. He says he’s fine, but he doesn’t know the fucking meaning of the word.”

“He seems to be taking it pretty hard,” Betsy said measuredly.

“Can you blame him?”

“No. It was just an observation.”

David didn’t know how Betsy did this. She was the epitome of professionalism, all the time. She seemed to know just how to handle Andrew, even in a situation as fucked as this one. She must have talked to a lot of people who had a multitude of problems, and David doubted there was much that could phase her. But he also doubted she’d ever had a case quite like Andrew’s before.

“Do you think you can talk to him?” David asked suddenly.

“Of course. It’s my job.”

“No, not Andrew. Neil.”

Betsy frowned. “David, Neil wasn’t very receptive at our meet-and-greet, and you heard him outside. He seems to have an ingrained distrust of people in my profession.”

“Yeah, he’s a real piece of work,” David agreed. “But do you think you can talk to him anyway? I’ve tried, he doesn’t wanna know, and god knows I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”

Betsy paused, a considering look on her face. Then she nodded. “I can try. I can’t promise anything, David, and honestly I really don’t think he’ll want to talk to me. But for what it’s worth, I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

* * *

 

The house in Columbia was fraught with tension the next morning, especially after Nicky’s ill-advised attempt to hug Andrew almost resulted in him being run through with a kitchen knife. Luckily, David had been very close at hand and had been able to yank Nicky out of the way, and Kevin had steered Nicky swiftly out of the kitchen and out of Andrew’s way. After the arrival of the lawyer, Waterhouse, as well as Mr. Blackwell who had been the prosecuting attorney at Andrew’s trial, David was eager for Betsy and Neil to come back; he had no idea what Blackwell was doing there and wanted an explanation from Betsy.

Andrew specifically enlisting Neil to fetch his car had been a surprise, considering Nicky was usually the only other person he allowed to drive it (with Renee, yet again, the exception — but if you trusted _Nicky_ with your car, then Renee was a no brainer). It could have simply been consideration; returning to his parent’s home to fetch the car would no doubt have been difficult and uncomfortable for Nicky. But although Andrew was a lot of things, considerate was not one of them. Driving Andrew’s car was yet another concession Andrew had allowed Neil, and David had to wonder at where the line was, or if there even was one.

It was a relief, to say the least, when Betsy and Neil finally returned from their various errands, and after Betsy sent Neil back out to check on Kevin and Nicky, she finally turned her attention to David and Abby.

“Mr. Blackwell is here because I want to take Andrew off his medication, and I need him to sign off on it,” she said, without preamble.

“When?” David asked.

“As soon as possible,” Betsy said, then tilted her head, considering. “Today, really.”

There was a brief pause, and then Abby inhaled sharply. “ _No_!” she exclaimed angrily, louder than she meant to. Her voice lowered when she continued. “He’s _hurt_ , Betsy, you can’t expect him to go through withdrawal while he’s still healing, it isn’t _fair_.”

“No,” said Betsy. “It’s not. But he can’t heal properly how he is now anyway. Andrew’s just been through a trauma, and he can’t work through it in his current state — his meds won’t allow it. He needs to come off them, Abby. Now.”

Abby gestured in agitation. “Look, swapping out one kind of trauma with another is not going to solve anything. It’ll only make things worse. I understand what you’re getting at, but this isn’t the way.”

“This is the only ethical solution,” Betsy said calmly.

“You can’t—”

“She can,” David said, finally rejoining the conversation. He almost winced at the noise Abby made at him essentially siding with Betsy, but he managed not to. If Betsy thought this was the right way to go, then David would defer to her. “If you’re sure this is the best option, I’m not going to stop you. I trust you to do what’s right by my kids.”

“I’m sorry. I know what this means for your season.”

“You worry about Andrew. I’ll worry about my season,” David said.

Abby, clearly not ready to concede her view just yet, cut in. “Andrew won’t agree to this. Going means leaving Kevin behind. They haven’t had more than a campus between them since Andrew took Kevin under his wing. He’s not going to change things now, especially not with Riko in our district.”

David privately thought that she was right — convincing Andrew would take some doing and David hated the idea of committing him against his will, which was why it was with a heavy heart that he said, “Andrew doesn’t have to agree. It’s Betsy’s call.”

It shouldn’t have really been a surprise to David to hear Neil’s voice coming from behind him.

“Where are you taking him?”

* * *

 

Andrew, high as he was, recognised that Betsy would be taking him to Easthaven regardless of his opinion on the matter. That didn’t mean, however, that he wasn’t prepared to let his opinion be known, and he took the party downstairs in search of Kevin, who was guaranteed to throw a wrench in proceedings. Kevin thought it was too soon.

David told Andrew that they’d take care of Kevin to no avail, but it was Neil offering to watch Kevin that really got Andrew’s attention. It took no time at all for Andrew to get right in Neil’s space, shoving him back, then allowing himself to be towed forward when Neil grabbed hold of his arms. What followed was a lengthy conversation in German, during which they only had eyes for each other, as Neil — presumably — talked Andrew around.

The baffling part came during the tail end of the conversation, when Neil took one of Andrew’s hands and pressed it under the hem of his t-shirt. Andrew’s eyes shot downwards, an inscrutable expression crossing his face. Then he pulled back, crossing his arms as he regarded Neil for a long moment. He laughed, and headed straight for Kevin.

“It’ll have to do, won’t it?” He didn’t bother waiting to see if Kevin had anything to say, and instead turned his attention to Betsy. “Bee, I’ll see if Nicky is still breathing. Then we can go, right? The sooner we start, the sooner we can get this mess over with.”

“You could wait for Aaron. I’m on my way to get him now,” Waterhouse said, and David sort of hoped that Andrew _would_ wait. It seemed like he should see the brother who had killed for him before he headed off for weeks of rehab. It wasn’t a surprise, however, that Andrew was unwilling to stick around.

“No time for that. He can take a number and wait.”

Andrew disappeared to Nicky’s room and David staunchly ignored Kevin’s heavy stare as he led the lawyers out of the house. When he returned to the kitchen, Neil simply asked, “Aaron?”

“Waterhouse thinks he can get Aaron released until trial on his recognizance. Matt’s mother offered to wire money for his bond if necessary. Waterhouse tried to meet with Aaron last night and let him know, but Aaron wouldn’t see him. Hopefully hearing about all of this will get him moving, but who knows when it comes to those two?” David said tiredly, and then he zeroed in on Neil. “Speaking of unpredictable assholes, when did that happen?”

David obviously hadn’t understood what was being said when Neil and Andrew were talking in German, but their little display had seemed _somewhat_ over the line of platonic. Andrew didn’t let _anyone_ touch him if he could help it, and yet there was Neil, shoving Andrew’s hand up his shirt.

Neil fixed David with a confused stare. “When did what?”

David eyed Neil for any signs that he was just being facetious but didn’t see any. Poor kid; David was sure he’d figure it out eventually. “Forget it,” he said.

Kevin had clearly decided he’d kept quiet long enough. “I can’t believe you’re sending Andrew away,” he snapped at David.

“Technically I’m not. Betsy is. And it doesn’t really matter what you believe, because it’s already settled.”

“What about the season? What about Riko?”

“What about Andrew?” David retorted, too damn tired to have this conversation with Kevin, and disappointed if not surprised that Kevin was prioritizing Exy over what was best for Andrew. “Attempt to think about someone and something else for just a moment here.” Kevin’s gaze dropped guiltily to the ground. “I know you’re scared, but he needs this, Kevin. He’s not any good to you until he gets his shit sorted, and he can’t sort a damn thing when he’s buzzing three miles off the ground. You know that.”

Kevin didn’t say anything else, appropriately chastised, and Betsy broke in. “I don’t know how long it will take to get Andrew checked in, David. It’s probably best if you don’t wait for me.”

“We could,” David said, but Betsy shook her head.

Nicky’s door opened and a moment later Andrew strode back into the kitchen. He hadn’t been gone long enough to have filled Nicky in on what was happening. “When you said you were going to see if he was bleeding I assumed you were going to take time to explain this to him.”

Andrew fixed David with a broad grin. “You know what they say about people who assume, Coach. He’s not bleeding, so I told him I’d be back later and we could talk about it then. It’s technically the truth, yes? Let Neil deal with the fallout if Nicky doesn’t like it. Bee, we’re going.”

He about turned and Betsy followed, and they were almost at the door when David spoke up; he couldn’t let Andrew go without saying anything. “Andrew. Don’t leave me alone with these morons for too long. I’m getting too old to deal with their drama.” David felt the truth of it in his bones.

“Oh, you and me both,” Andrew said, then stepped through the door. Betsy closed it behind them, and just like that, Andrew was gone, the weight of his absence suddenly heavy in the room.

They were doing the right thing by Andrew. David believed that. So now that Andrew was being taken care of, David had to move on to the next thing, which was Aaron, and then after that it would be the line-up yet again.

He had to keep moving; it was a necessity. If he stopped to dwell on what had transpired this weekend, he’d be rooted to the spot with the weight of it. Andrew was a Fox, and he’d be back. Until he was, David had eight other Foxes to keep him busy.

So with a heavy sigh, he took out his cigarettes, and got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I trust you to do what’s right by my kids.” -- cue me crying forever.
> 
> *EDIT 22/03/17 -- I have added a teeny tiny line (so small you probably wouldn't have even noticed) because I forgot somehow that Andrew also lets Renee drive his car. It's not a change that effects the reading of the chapter, it's more a throwaway comment.


	9. Chapter 9

The car journey back from Columbia was near silent, a strange tension in the air that neither David nor Abby felt like clearing, at least not at first. They followed close behind Andrew’s car that Neil was driving yet again; David didn’t want to let them out of his sight until he had to.

The Foxes were now a member down, which was a major setback (albeit a necessary one — Betsy was right; ethically, taking Andrew off his meds was their only option), but at the very least Aaron was theirs until his trial, whenever the hell that would be. There were obviously conditions to that, but on the whole it was a pretty favourable outcome.

The state Aaron was in was another matter entirely, and his aversion to people in general meant that David didn’t really know how to help him. Whatever Neil had said to Aaron back at the house had gotten him moving, but it seemed to be more out of anger than anything else. David had told Neil and Kevin that he was there to help with whatever they needed and that he would listen, knowing that Neil at least would probably never take him up on the offer but needing him to know it was there all the same. Aaron, though — Aaron, whose relationship with his brother was already complicated enough, who had witnessed something unspeakable and put a very permanent stop to it, and who was now facing a lengthy legal process during which personal information about Andrew would be offered up for public consumption while a jury decided if they thought Aaron’s actions were justified — what could David possibly say to him? That he knew what Aaron — _or_ Andrew — was going through? He didn’t.

The situation was fucked. Truly and utterly fucked, and it was having an effect on everyone _except_ Andrew, in what was a sort of sick, cruel irony. Maybe coming off the medication would change that, maybe not. It remained to be seen.

For the first time, David felt utterly unequipped to deal with the problems of his Foxes. It was too much; some of them were too hurt, had endured too much for their years, and had yet more battles heading their way. Their pasts were haunting all of their footsteps and threatened to shape their futures, and suddenly the season seemed more important than ever. Sure, they’d been dealt terrible hands, their personal lives were a shitshow and David had no idea how to help them. But Exy? They could handle Exy. They were good, and they were strong, and they fought harder than any of the other teams because they _had_ to, because it meant more to them, because some of them didn’t have anything else.

So this? This they could do, and this David could help with. But first, he had to convince the ERC to let them _play_.

Through the windshield, David saw Neil turn onto Perimeter Road as he and Abby kept going to head back to her house.

“Call Dan,” David said to Abby. “Let her know Neil and the others will be back in a couple of minutes.”

Once she was off the phone, Abby directly addressed David for the first time since leaving Columbia. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“They have to be,” David said. “What else is there?”

* * *

 

Being the coach of a Class I Exy team had been a long time dream of David’s but he’d never imagined, once he finally got there, that he’d end up spending quite so much time on the phone. In the past 24 hours alone, David had spent more time speaking to people through a receiver than he had talking to people in the flesh, but it was all in the name of keeping the Palmetto State Foxes in the season.

“It’s only two more games,” he found himself saying again and again to various other Class I coaches, drumming up support. “Andrew will be back after Christmas, well in time for spring championships. I need you to help me get the ERC to cut us some slack for just _two_ games.”

Coach Rhemann of the USC Trojans was the first David had spoken to; David had rightly anticipated that he would take the side of the Foxes, and he even offered to help David reach out to others and to speak on their behalf if necessary. His was a voice that carried a lot of weight, and David was immeasurably grateful.

The registrar’s office and Easthaven had agreed to let Andrew finish the semester long-distance, which meant that he was still enrolled at Palmetto, still contracted to the Exy team, and undoubtedly still a Fox. The problem, of course, was not knowing what — if any — kind of treatment plan Andrew would be on come his return to Palmetto, and how it would affect his ability to play. David didn’t _have_ the answers to those questions, and so couldn’t assuage the ERC’s concerns. It was infuriating.

By the time the Foxes showed up for practice at 10 in the morning (David had delayed the start time — everyone had needed it), there had been an almost unanimous vote across the Class I teams in the Foxes favour, and David had a conference call with the ERC scheduled for the afternoon for a final ruling on their status. A promising start, but David honestly had no idea what the decision would be — the ERC had already made concession after concession for the Foxes this year, and David had to wonder if this was one ask too many.

Aaron, unsurprisingly, had not shown up to practice, but David was more than happy to give him a pass for now — if anyone needed it, he did.

“Do you know where he is?” David asked Nicky when the others all showed up and started taking their usual seats. At the start of the season there were ten Foxes in this room. Today, there were only seven.

Nicky shrugged. “Probably with Katelyn somewhere. He took off with her yesterday.”

“Katelyn,” David said, trying to place the name. “The cheerleader?”

Nicky nodded.

“Alright. As long as he’s not on his own.”

“Nah, he’s not that dumb,” Nicky said. “He’ll resurface in the next day or so. Just needs to hide for a little while so he can get his head together probably.” Nicky’s expression darkened exponentially. “Have you seen the news, Coach? It’s fuckin’ _everywhere_.”

“I know,” David said. The Foxes — especially with Kevin on the line-up — were too high profile for something like this to slip under the media radar, and it was one thing David sorely wished he could shield his team from, yet was powerless to prevent. He clasped a hand to Nicky’s shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze, then let go. “Sit down. I need to talk to you guys.”

Once he’d gotten them up to speed with their current situation vis-à-vis the ERC, David proceeded to run the Foxes into the ground for the first couple of hours of practice. The busier he kept him, the less they’d be thinking about the fact that this could very well be their last practice of the season, depending on which way the ERC ruling went. At least, that was the theory. David didn’t know how effective it was, but when midday rolled around and he left them to Dan, the anxiety rolling off his players was palpable.

David took a deep breath and headed to his office, fully prepared to fight like hell for his team. He couldn’t help them when they were on the court, but he could goddamn help them here.

An hour later, back on the court, the nervous faces of his Foxes in a huddle around him, and David broke the news in typical fashion. “Be here at six o’clock tomorrow morning. We’ve got a game to win Friday.”

He barely had time to register Dan’s triumphant scream before her arms were around his neck and he was staggering under her unexpected weight, soon joined by several of her teammates. Initial spluttering aside, David allowed himself a moment to enjoy the celebration and smile before detaching himself.

“Alright, alright. Get the fuck off me. Back to work.”

* * *

 

After practice had finished for the evening, David found himself making his way over Abby’s. She knew that the ERC had ruled in their favour — David had called her to let her know — but he hadn’t seen her properly since dropping her off at her place the day before. He knew she wasn’t mad; Abby didn’t hold a grudge, but she clearly hadn’t been comfortable with the decision regarding Andrew and Easthaven.

David didn’t blame her. After all, _he_ didn’t feel entirely comfortable with it either. But what else could they have done, really? It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Healing from what Drake had done to him and going through withdrawal at the same time was going to be horrendous for Andrew, David had no doubt about it. But leaving him on his meds, to mock his own pain, his own trauma, and everyone elses reactions to what had happened to him was worse. It was a few weeks. A few weeks of hell, but then it would be over, and hopefully, the Andrew who returned to them would be someone who could be helped.

David let himself into Abby’s house, calling out a greeting as he shut the door behind him. Abby stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She smiled when she saw him; it was a little strained, but it was still there.

“I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight,” she said.

David shrugged. “Ah, well. I didn’t feel like cooking for myself.”

“You never do,” Abby chided, and David gave her his best approximation of a smile.

“True.”

Abby took a step forward. “You look exhausted, David,” she said.

“I _feel_ exhausted,” he replied, and he _did_. He felt heavy with it; a soul-crushing tiredness so potent that it felt like no amount of sleep would ever be enough.

Abby said nothing, but she opened her arms to him and David went without a question, wrapping his arms around her much smaller frame. Her hand came up to stroke the short hairs on the back of his neck.

“I’m proud of you, David,” Abby murmured after a moment. He grunted unintelligibly. “I mean it.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes. You did. You always do.” She pulled away and pointed towards the bedroom sternly. “Go and have a nap. I’ll come and get you when dinner’s ready.”

Abby had her _no nonsense_ expression on so David nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and off he went.

A nap sounded _great_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let wymack rest


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another longish chapter because I didn't want to split it and yet again there's a bunch of book dialogue here but I couldn't leave it out, it all felt super important.

The Foxes resumed practices with an unbridled ferocity, rallied by the ERC taking their side and urged forward by the knowledge that without Andrew, it was going to be harder to hold the line. Aaron didn’t speak to anyone initially, Nicky and David included, but at least he showed up, and he seemed to be playing with a renewed focus. If he didn’t want to talk to anyone that was fine, and as long as he was taking out his aggression on the court rather than off it, David could deal with the silent treatment.

Aaron aside, David was also keeping a particularly close eye on Neil and Kevin. Nicky, as close to the situation as he was, was less of a concern, mainly because he was more than willing to accept comfort and actually talk to people. But David couldn’t really get a good read on how Kevin and Neil were coping. They seemed fine on the surface (fine — a word that David was really starting to hate thanks to Neil’s overuse of it when he clearly didn’t know what it meant), both throwing themselves into Exy as David could have predicted they would. Neil had given Andrew his word that he would keep an eye on Kevin, and he seemed to have extended that to the rest of Andrew’s group as well. He was still acting as their chauffeur, which David couldn’t quite figure out. Maybe Nicky just didn’t feel like driving now that he knew Andrew had okayed Neil as an alternate, maybe it was just about Nicky staying closer to Aaron even if he was ignored for his efforts. Whatever it was, it looked like Neil was in charge in Andrew’s absence.

It was _weird_.

David didn’t know what Neil had said to Andrew back in Columbia that had made Andrew suddenly decide to go to Easthaven without a fight, but Neil had been staunchly in favour of Andrew coming off his meds, despite what it might have meant for the season. And Neil was a liar — this David knew — but the way he loved and played Exy, _that_ wasn’t a lie, and yet Neil still wanted Andrew to go. Obviously, Neil hadn’t wanted it to mean the season was over, but he was willing to accept that outcome if it meant that Andrew was getting help. David didn’t like to assume, or pry, and this was admittedly a leap to take, but it seemed like Andrew perhaps meant more to Neil than Exy at this point. And that _was_ an interesting development when David considered everything that had happened since Neil first ran into Andrew’s stolen racquet back in Millport months ago.

So while Neil was watching Kevin, David was watching Neil, looking for. . . for _what_? Signs that he was missing Andrew? David didn’t know; it didn’t seem to make any sense that one of the people to be most affected by Andrew’s absence was Neil, and yet it was undoubtedly true.

But Exy, as ever, was a great distraction, and the Foxes won their match on Friday with a six point gap even without Andrew, and with Neil still adjusting to his new racquet.

Then it was Thanksgiving, and whilst the upperclassmen all went their separate ways for the long weekend, Neil stayed on campus with Kevin, Nicky and Aaron. David wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t going back to Millport — he privately thought that Neil would have stayed even if he wasn’t watching Kevin, given how little Neil mentioned his parents or home life.

Thanksgiving was naturally spent at Abby’s place, and when dinner time rolled around Neil tentatively revealed, when asked what his favourite dish was, that he had never celebrated Thanksgiving before, a fact that had Nicky absolutely scandalised.

“It’s not really about the food,” he told an unimpressed looking Neil. “It’s about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we chose. This one. The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about.”

“I’m trying to eat here,” David grumbled.

“Coach doesn’t have a sentimental bone in his body. I don’t know what Abby sees in him. He must be really good in—”

“Another word and you’re on dish duty,” Abby cut in, shooting a death glare at Nicky who hastily retreated out of the conversation.

David’s grumpiness was a character trait that he came by naturally, but Nicky saying that he wasn’t sentimental couldn’t have been further from the truth, and judging by the knowing little smile Abby gave David, she was on to him. David ran a halfway-house team of kids who needed a goddamn break — if anything he was _too_ sentimental.

They made it through the holiday without incident, and everyone returned to practices refreshed and ready for one more win to get them to winter break. As well as Exy, the Foxes had exams to study for which meant that everyone was too busy to dwell on Andrew too much; a blessing really, as no one had even heard from him since he was admitted to Easthaven. It wasn’t a surprise. Andrew wasn’t the type of person who called just to check in, and considering he hadn’t been all that keen on going in the first place, David couldn’t say he blamed him. But a call would have been nice, just a word or two on how he was doing, for peace of mind.

Regardless, the Foxes made it through the last game, and they made it through their exams, and soon all that was left until some much deserved time off was the district Christmas banquet. David didn’t think he had ever dreaded any singular event more than he was dreading this one.

It was the last hurdle until Andrew came back and David could slowly start reinstating some normalcy back into his team. Just one night that David could really do with going drama free, for the sake of his blood pressure if nothing else.

So naturally, it all went to shit.

* * *

 

It actually started out better than David had expected. After giving Kevin strict instructions to stay within five feet of Neil or Matt at all times, David led the Foxes into the banquet area to discover that whoever had done the seating chart had wisely kept the Ravens and the Foxes far away from each other.

Palmetto State had beaten out Breckenridge on goal ratio to finish second in the rankings, confirming their spot as one of the four teams to represent the southeastern district in the spring championship. It really was an incredible achievement, and if David wasn’t already so on edge, he might have enjoyed the congratulations from his fellow coaches more.

The dinner portion of the evening went relatively smoothly. David spent the whole time half expecting Matt to show up again with news of a Neil related disaster, but with the Ravens on the opposite side of the court to the Foxes, David knew that he was being paranoid. Although rightly so, given Neil’s Riko track record.

When the tables were cleared away to make room for games and a dance floor, David watched the Foxes for long enough to ascertain what they were doing before he and Abby continued their expected socialising with the other coaches. Nicky, Aaron and their dates quickly disappeared into the crowd, closely followed by Renee and Allison. Dan and Matt, David noted approvingly, were sticking to the outskirts of the dance floor, close enough that they were in easy reach of Kevin and Neil if the strikers should need their assistance.

Kevin and Neil were lingering near the drinks table, and David was happy to leave them to it this time, fuck schmoozing with the other teams. David glanced around quickly to make sure that Riko was nowhere near them, and only when he spotted him on the other side of the court did David allow himself to relax slightly and return his attention elsewhere.

A little over half an hour later, David heard the grating sound of a table sliding across the court floor, and within seconds shouts about a fight started to fill the air. David closed his eyes, just for a moment, and tried to prepare himself for the inevitable when he opened them to discover that it was, of _course_ , Neil and Riko causing the disturbance.

“David, _do_ something,” Abby murmured from next to him, but David was already moving.

A few people, Matt included, were now standing between Riko and Neil, trying their level best to keep the pair separated, but Neil was fighting tooth and nail to get back to Riko. David didn’t recognise the look of fury on Neil’s face — it was an expression he’d never seen on the rookie striker before. Neil managed to grab Riko’s sleeve just before David got there and he heard him growl out, “You even fucking think about touching him—”, but David didn’t let Neil finish the sentence, just grabbed him and all but carried him away from Riko.

David tried to plant himself so that he was blocking Neil’s view of Riko, but it didn’t matter; Neil, breathing heavily, was already craning his neck past David so he could see. Neil was shaking with rage, and whatever Riko had said to him had him gripping his fingers into David’s arm painfully. All David could do was hold on.

“What the hell is going on here?” came the voice of Breckenridge’s coach. “This is a Christmas banquet. If you missed the memo, that’s Christmas, as in make merry and goodwill to man. I want a goddamned explanation for this.”

David knew full well he wasn’t going to get one, and sure enough, neither Neil nor Riko acknowledged the question at all. Neil addressed Riko instead. “Yes. I understand.”

“Apology accepted,” Riko said.

David didn’t follow; whatever that was, it was the end of the conversation that had started the brawl in the first place. Another coach stepped up to address the crowd that had gathered. “The next person to start a fight here is getting written up and will sit out of the next five scheduled games, spring or fall. Do I make myself clear?” Droned noises of assent went up and then the coach in question turned on Riko and Neil. “You two stay away from each other the rest of the night. Wymack, get him off the court until he’s feeling civil.”

The last part was said with a hint of disgust and David bit down on his own anger that more blame was apparently being assigned to Neil. Riko was an unapologetic asshole and everyone knew it, and yet he was seemingly free to behave however the hell he felt like. It left a bitter taste in David’s mouth, especially when he knew what Riko was capable of.

“Neil wasn’t fighting with himself,” he reminded the coach icily. “If Coach Moriyama wants the Away side, I’ll take the Home.”

“Of course. Riko?” Moriyama said, sounding utterly disinterested by the proceedings as he led Riko away.

David hauled Neil off in the opposite direction, trusting Abby and the rest of the Foxes to follow as he managed to get Neil through the court door and forcibly sat him down on a bench. Only then did Neil finally look up at David, and David waved Katelyn and Nicky’s date out of the room — this was a Foxes only meeting.

“What the hell was that?” David bit out through gritted teeth.

Neil had the audacity to look confused. “Coach?”

“Don’t you dare ‘Coach?’ me, you malfunctioning retard,” David snarled.

“No, but really. What happened?” Nicky asked.

“Neil hit Riko. It was beautiful,” Matt offered helpfully with a grin.

“What? Not fair! I missed it! Go do it again,” Nicky said, and David turned his look of ire on Nicky. This wasn’t helping. “Or not. You can’t blame a guy for dreaming, right, Coach?”

“Shut up,” David said, and looked back to Neil impatiently. “I’m waiting.”

Neil started to fiddle with his wrist, and an unmistakable wince crossed his face that momentarily cooled the edges of David’s anger — he didn’t realise Riko had actually _hurt_ Neil. Abby was at Neil’s side immediately and he let her look at his wrist as he looked past David. “Riko bought off the prosecution. That’s why Drake risked coming all the way here to see Andrew. Riko would get the charges dismissed if Drake would—” Neil cut himself off, unable to finish, and he didn’t need to anyway — his meaning was clear.

The whole room froze. David scrabbled for a response, but he had nothing, and it was Aaron who eventually recovered first. “You’re lying,” he said, but he didn’t sound sure.

Neil ignored Aaron and instead spoke to Kevin in French — a question, low and urgent. David tried to calm the fury in his heart. If Riko was responsible for Drake, then Andrew had been right when he told Neil that Riko was behind Seth’s death. It was sick; Exy was just a game, it shouldn’t be important enough to mean life or death. David hadn’t been able to protect Kevin, and he hadn’t been able to protect Seth, and he hadn’t been able to protect Andrew. How was he supposed to keep his kids safe from someone like Riko, who didn’t seem to care what the costs of his actions were?

“I’m going to kill him,” Nicky said, with a deathly calm that sounded strange coming from the bubbly backliner, even if David sympathised with the sentiment.

“No,” Neil said forcefully, redrawing everyone’s attention. “We’ve got to break him first. If Exy is the only thing he cares about we’re going to take it away from him. First we destroy his reputation, then we destroy him. I don’t want us to lose a single game this spring. Can we do that?” David couldn’t have said it better himself.

“Not a single damn game,” Dan agreed darkly.

Neil refocused on Kevin, who hadn’t responded to him before, and again asked something in French. This time, Kevin _did_ reply, and whatever the brief conversation that followed was about, Kevin was blatantly extremely unhappy about it.

When they had obviously finished, Dan finally looked at David and said, “Let’s go home, Coach.”

He agreed wholeheartedly; they couldn’t stay, not after what Neil had just told them. David didn’t trust _himself_ not to go after Riko, let alone his team. He sent Renee to get Katelyn and whoever Nicky had brought with him, and then they left as soon as they had grabbed their bags from the locker room.

The drive back was long and silent, everyone still trying to process the ugly truths they had just been exposed to. David clenched the steering wheel and focused on the road. Come the spring championships, the Foxes _would_ face the Ravens again. And when they did, Riko was going to rue the day he broke Kevin’s hand and started the catalyst of events that had led to this point.

Riko had hurt the Foxes enough. It was time for revenge.

* * *

 

Winter break was blissfully quiet. None of the Foxes had stayed on campus what with Matt’s generous offer to take the cousins and Kevin to New York, which they surprisingly took him up on. Neil had been supposed to go with them, but had headed back home to Millport in a last minute change of plans due to his uncle coming to town for the holiday. That was the story Nicky had given David, anyway. He felt uneasy about it; he would have preferred Neil to be with his other teammates, especially considering his obviously complicated and probably violent relationship with his parents. But Neil was (technically) an adult, capable of making his own goddamned decisions, and there wasn’t anything David could have done about it even if Neil _had_ ran it past him before leaving.

David had learned to embrace downtime as he had it so rarely, and he and Abby enjoyed a few days together over Christmas before Abby disappeared out of town to spend some time with her family. David had been invited, but wanted to get a headstart on paperwork and preparations for spring championships and so stayed behind. It was the ideal time to get some real work done without any of the Foxes there to distract him.

“Don’t work too hard,” Abby had said with a kiss to David’s cheek as she walked out the door.

By New Year’s Eve, David had made a fair bit of headway, and had also received a call on the 30th to say that Andrew would be able to check out of Easthaven on January 2nd. It was good news, not to mention Kevin and the others were getting back that morning and would be able to go and pick Andrew up.

David finished working and was about to pour himself some whiskey and veg out in front of the TV for the rest of the night, when his phone started to ring. David checked the caller ID and blinked as Neil’s name flashed across the screen. David couldn’t remember if Neil had ever called him directly before. With no small amount of trepidation, David answered the phone.

“You have a good reason to be bothering me on a holiday?” he asked.

Neil’s voice was barely recognisable; cracked and ragged. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

David snapped to attention immediately, his mind already going into emergency mode. “Neil? Are you alright?”

“No. No, I’m not,” Neil said, the first time David had ever heard him respond to that question with anything other than _I’m fine_. “I know it’s kind of sudden, but can you come and get me? I’m at the airport.”

David was already on his feet, searching for his shoes and his keys. “Wait right there. I’m on my way.”

There was a click as the call disconnected, and David pulled his coat on then ran for the door.

The journey took a little longer than David wanted it to, New Years traffic around the airport holding him up slightly, but soon enough David arrived and drove slowly along the pick-up point outside arrivals searching for Neil.

He frowned; he couldn’t see Neil anywhere, and he should have been able to — there weren’t that many people waiting around. Just as he thought that he’d have to park up somewhere and go inside the airport to find Neil, David spotted some kid who looked around Neil’s age sitting on the curb, a little slumped over and oblivious to the havoc he was causing as cars swerved around him to avoid running over his legs. His hands were drawn close to him protectively but it was the duffel bag he had that snagged David’s attention, because that was _Neil’s_ duffel bag. This boy did not look like Neil, but when David crawled to a stop just in front of him, he realised that it _was_.

His hair was no longer black, but auburn, and his eyes — behind the black, purple and yellow bruising of what must have been one _hell_ of a beating — were an icy blue, not the brown David had been expecting. He knew Neil had been wearing contacts before, he just hadn’t had it confirmed that they were colour contacts until now. He was _covered_ in bandages, and something in David’s heart clenched. He never should have let Neil go home.

Neil looked completely out of it; he didn’t even register David was there until he took a hold of Neil’s arm.

“Up. We’re getting out of here,” he said, and Neil grabbed David’s sleeve and allowed him to hoist him to his feet. David helped him hobble along to the car and got the passenger door open, then watched as Neil carefully climbed inside.

David got in his own side and quickly got them back on the road and heading away from the airport. He didn’t ask any questions yet — Neil was clearly in no fit state to answer them, and the next time David risked a glance over, Neil’s eyes were closed.

When he got them back and parked, David swung Neil’s duffel over his shoulder and then hoisted Neil out of the car. Neil was only semi-conscious, and David looped Neil’s arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist as he half carried, half dragged Neil inside and to the elevator.

“Come on, Neil, work with me here,” David said anxiously while they rode up to David’s floor, and although Neil’s eyelids flickered and he made a tiny little grunt of what might have been acknowledgment or recognition, he didn’t say anything, and then the elevator doors pinged.

David got him inside the apartment and carefully placed him on the sofa, lifting his legs up so he could lay down fully. Then he went to his office to fetch his desk-chair, poured himself a generous shot of whiskey, and sat down to keep an eye on Neil while he slept.

While he waited for Neil to wake up, David had far too much time to think and speculate. The injuries David could see were bad enough, but the way Neil had been carrying himself implied that there were more beneath his clothes, and it all seemed rather excessive, even for someone whose parents had a tendency to be heavy-handed. The _hair_ though, and the eyes. . . David had no explanation for those changes. It didn’t add up.

After what felt like far too long, Neil finally blinked his eyes open. It seemed to take him a moment to realise where he was, and he slowly (and clearly painfully) sat up and met David’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“He sounds like Neil, but he doesn’t look like him. I’ll take your explanation from the top and without a side order of bullshit, thanks,” David said. Neil just looked at him blankly for a moment, but then he reached for his hair and he paled.

“No,” he croaked out and lurched to his feet, making for the bathroom. David followed him, curious as to why Neil didn’t seem to realise that he’d dyed his hair. When David caught up with him, Neil was gripping the edge of the sink but couldn’t keep himself on his feet; he fell to his knees. And then David realised that he was turning red.

“Breathe,” he said, and pounded his fist into Neil’s back to encourage him to take a breath, and when Neil finally found one it sounded desperate and painful.

Once he’d gotten a few good breaths in, David did the only thing he could think of to calm Neil down, and lit him a cigarette. This was something he’d discovered after Andrew’s ordeal in Columbia; Neil didn’t smoke, not really, but he seemed to take comfort in the smell, in having a cigarette in his hands. Neil took it and held it close to his face, taking deeper breaths as he did so. He started to press at his coat, maybe at some wound David couldn’t see, and then he finally took too deep a breath and started to choke, ragged coughs that dissolved into panicked laughing. Honestly, it was a little frightening to witness, and David tried to focus Neil’s attention before he started suffocating on his own hysteria.

“Neil, I need you to talk to me.”

“I think I pulled my stitches. I feel blood.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere?” He sounded unsure and reached for the buttons on his coat, but David knocked his hand out of the way and tried himself. It still took both of them to help Neil shrug out of his coat, and once he was free Neil pulled a glove off with his teeth, wincing as he did at whatever the motion did to the injury on his face. David pulled the gauze off Neil’s face and froze.

“Neil, the fuck is on your face?” he said, dumbstruck, but he _knew_ what it was. It was a tattoo. The number 4, in the same spot as Kevin’s 2. Neil had been marked for Riko’s perfect court, which meant he _hadn’t_ been in Arizona. He’d been at Evermore with Riko, in the heart of the Raven’s nest. But _why_ was the question.

Neil reached for his face, confused, but then tried to get up so he could look in the mirror. David helped him up after watching him struggle, and as soon as Neil clocked his brand new ink, he lashed out and somehow managed to throw David from the bathroom and then ran past him to the kitchen with remarkable speed and agility given the state he was in. It took David a second to regain his balance and chase after Neil, but he caught up just in time to stop Neil from carving the tattoo off his face with a kitchen knife.

Neil fought like hell as David managed to slam his hand onto the kitchen counter, forcing Neil to relinquish his grip, but even then he still struggled to reach for it, a wild desperation overtaking him. Finally, David managed to drag Neil to the floor with him and wrapped both his arms around Neil until he lost the strength to keep fighting.

“Hey,” he said, right into Neil’s ear. “Hey. It’s alright.” Slowly, _so_ slowly, Neil stopped struggling and instead gripped onto the arms that David still had wrapped around him. “Neil,” David said urgently, needing Neil to talk to him.

“Help me,” Neil finally said, a broken phrase from a broken boy. Something David wished Neil had asked a long time ago.

“Let me,” David replied, but didn’t say anything else until Neil’s breathing finally resembled something normal instead of panicked. “What the fuck happened?” he then asked. “Last I heard you were spending Christmas with your uncle.”

“I lied,” Neil said, surprise, surprise. “Andrew’s coming back to us on Tuesday, alright? If Easthaven hasn’t called Betsy yet to arrange his ride they will soon.”

“They called yesterday,” David said, managing not to sigh despite his exasperation. “What does Andrew have to do with this?”

“Everything that matters.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Shut up,” David said abruptly. He didn’t want to hear Neil’s bullshit apologies right now. He wanted a fucking explanation as to why Neil looked beaten halfway to death with a ‘4’ tattooed to his fucking face. “Can I let go of you and trust you to behave, or are you going to try and cut your face off again? I want to check your stitches,” David said, because that, at least, he could help with.

“I’ll behave.”

“Forgive me if I don’t trust you,” David said, but he let go of Neil all the same and took him back through to the living room.

When Neil couldn’t get his shirt off, David cut it off him with cooking scissors instead, not wanting Neil to pull anything more than he already had, and not wanting to hurt Neil himself if he tried to pull the t-shirt off for him.

David had been expecting scars, and scars were what he got — no wonder Abby had been so shaken back when she had given Neil his physical. Thanks to an excellent poker face he didn’t react to the myriad that plastered Neil’s torso and shoulders. A distinctive iron imprint was on Neil’s shoulder, not far away from what looked suspiciously like a bullet wound. Knife slashes littered his front. These were not the average scars left from an abusive household. And those were just the _old_ ones.

David checked all of the stitches, making sure there were no tears, and then began peeling off the multitude of bloodied bandages, sweeping a look over the damage. He fetched a wash cloth and a first-aid kit and began scrubbing the dried blood from Neil’s skin. Judging from the tight look on Neil’s face, it hurt, but he had clearly endured worse, and David needed to clean him up so he carried on.

When he was just about finished, David levelled a look at Neil, whose eyes were a little red around the edges, and who wouldn’t meet David’s gaze.

“One day we’re going to talk about this,” David said quietly.

“After finals. After we beat the Ravens. Then I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’ll even tell you the truth.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” David said, and it sounded glib, but really he was just tired and heart-wrenchingly sad at the hurt yet another one of his Foxes had endured. David cleared away the dirty bandages and returned to the living room doorway just in time to witness Neil knocking back some of David’s scotch.

“I thought you didn’t drink,” he said wryly.

“I don’t unless I have to,” Neil said, and he seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. “We used alcohol as anesthetics because we couldn’t risk going to the hospital. Too many questions. Too much lost time. It was safer to drink away the pain.” His hands were shaking, and then he clenched them into fists and finally locked eyes with David. “Is that enough, Coach? It’s a truth on credit to hold you until spring.”

So Neil had been running from someone then. And he hadn’t been alone, at least not at first, judging from his use of ‘we’. David still didn’t have all the pieces, but so much about Neil was starting to make sense now. “Yes,” David said. “It’s enough for now.” He couldn't push for more; Neil was holding on by a thread, and all David wanted to do was reel him back in.

Carefully, he wrapped fresh bandages around the wounds that still needed it, then sat back in his chair and watched Neil watch his hands. Neil was clearly wrestling with something; the expression on his face was searching, a struggle for a memory he couldn’t quite reach. Then he exhaled slowly and snapped his head back up, relief evident in his face.

“I didn’t sign it,” he said. “He gave me a contract but I wouldn’t sign it. He couldn’t make me. This doesn’t mean anything.” He put his fingers to his tattoo. “I’m still a Fox.”

“Of course you are,” David said adamantly. There was never any question.

“Are we going to watch the ball drop? I want to make a wish,” Neil said, and David followed his gaze to the clock which read 5 minutes to midnight.

“You make wishes on shooting stars. New Year’s is for resolutions.”

“That’s okay too.”

David obliged and turned on the TV, but kept a surreptitious eye on Neil as the minutes ticked down. Neil took out his phone and tapped out a message, and within moments it buzzed with incoming messages. David smiled tightly and returned his attention to the TV before Neil caught him looking.

Neil had friends. It looked like he was finally starting to understand what that meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit that last section killed me, I think I need to lie down? maybe? someone remind me why I thought writing this was a good idea ha.
> 
> but that brings us to the end of The Raven King, wooo! just The King's Men to go. I keep thinking to myself that I've covered all the really hard bits already but then I remember baltimore and wymack finding out he's kevin's dad and I break out into a nervous sweat. it's all good though, I'll get there.


	11. Chapter 11

David slept restlessly; he got up several times in the night just to peek into the living room and double check that Neil was still there. Every time, Neil remained asleep on the sofa and David ran a relieved hand down his face before going back to bed.

At 4.30, he woke as usual and headed to the kitchen to make up some coffee and start his day. Thermos in hand, he left the apartment as quietly as possible, another cursory check on Neil as he passed the living room. Neil was still fast asleep — David wondered when he had last been able to get a proper nights sleep. David made sure to lock the front door behind him as he left for his walk. Neil had a key so could get out if he needed to, so locking it was more of a precaution so no one could get _in_ while Neil was asleep and vulnerable. Not that David thought there was any danger of that; there was no one around for starters, not to mention he was the only one who even knew where Neil was. But David had become just a tad paranoid with all the new information he had learned in the last few weeks and he refused to take any chances with the safety of one of his own; not when Neil was already so hurt.

Once he got back from his walk, he showered and then retreated into his office for a couple of hours until he deemed it an appropriate time to eat breakfast. He took his time eating, trying to distract his mind by reading the paper, and left a skillet of breakfast food warming on the stove for whenever Neil decided to wake up. He had just finished and cleaned up his dishes when his phone started to ring, and David wasn’t all that surprised to see that it was Kevin.

“You calling to wish me a Happy New Year?”

“Coach,” Kevin said. “I, uh, we all got messages from Neil last night, but I've been trying to call him since then and I can’t get through. But he’s with you, right? He’s back at Palmetto?”

“He’s here,” David said, unsure of how much to really say.

“And he’s. . . he’s okay?”

The anxiety in Kevin’s tone had David sighing with instant understanding. “You knew where he was.”

“I — yes. But I swear, I _told_ him not to go,” Kevin said defensively.

“You should have told me. _Jesus_ , Kevin.”

“How could I? And even if I _had_ , do you think you could’ve stopped him, Coach?”

“You’re damn right I could’ve,” David growled out, but it sounded false even to his own ears.

“That’s bullshit, Coach, and you know it. Neil was trying to protect Andrew and the rest of us, there’s no way he would’ve let you stop him going.” There was a pause that David really didn’t feel like filling. He wasn’t angry at Kevin, not really; he wasn’t sure _who_ he was angry at. Neil maybe, for offering himself up as collateral. Kevin finally spoke up again: ”So Neil’s okay?”

“'Okay’ really isn’t the word I would use, but he’s here, he’s breathing, and he remains a giant pain in my ass. So if that’s what you’re asking, then yes.”

“Riko called me on Christmas. Said he inked him.”

“That is the very _least_ of what Riko did,” David said through gritted teeth. “Look, Kevin, I don’t wanna sugarcoat this and you’re gonna see him when you get back tomorrow anyway, but Neil’s a fucking mess. He’s covered in bruises and stitches and he’s not moving very well. He’s benched until Abby clears him. He has told me next to nothing of what happened at Evermore and I highly doubt he’s gonna want to talk about it, so I want you to tell the others where he’s been.”

“What? They’ll find out when we get back anyway, why do _I_ have to tell them?”

“Because I’m asking you to. You know what Neil’s like, and you know how overbearing Nicky especially can be. Just give them some sort of idea of what they’re coming back to, otherwise Neil’s just gonna get overwhelmed when everybody loses their shit.”

Kevin sighed. “Matt’s gonna kill me.”

“Nah, he won’t. He might punch you a little. But that’s nothing compared to what Neil’s just been through. Suck it up, Kevin.”

“ _Alright_ , fine, I’ll tell them.”

“Good. Just — just maybe don’t mention the tattoo. I’ll let Neil decide how he wants to handle that.”

Kevin sighed. “Okay,” he said. “Coach, I really _did_ try to get him to stay. I didn’t want him to get hurt.”

“I know, Kevin. It’s done now. Look, you’ll be back tomorrow and then you guys can go and get Andrew and then we’ll just all move forward from there.” David heard movement from the living room. “I’ve gotta go, I think Neil’s awake.”

“We’ll call when we land. See you tomorrow, Coach.”

David hung up and a moment later Neil shuffled painstakingly into the kitchen, David scrutinising his every step. He pointed over at the skillet on the stove. “Help yourself,” he said, and Neil nodded.

Once he’d made himself up a plate Neil sat down to eat and David poured him a cup of coffee then plonked it down in front of him. “You look like shit, by the way.”

“I know, Coach.”

* * *

 

David spent the rest of the day keeping a close eye on Neil. He tried to get a little more about Neil’s stay in Evermore out of him but he wasn’t particularly forthcoming, although he did say that he couldn’t quite remember everything, which David privately thought was pretty terrifying.

“They run sixteen hour days there,” Neil admitted. “It felt like three weeks instead of two. I’m having trouble keeping track of the time.”

David did notice Neil completely spacing out a few times, and when he changed Neil’s bandages again he tried to reassure him. “Everyone’s back tomorrow, then classes start on Thursday. Once you’ve got your old routine back your time problem will fix itself.” Neil just nodded distantly, his eyes a little dazed, clearly having difficulties focusing.

The next morning David took Neil to the stadium with him. He went into his office to get started on paperwork (story of his life) and Neil trailed in after him, clutching his duffel. He went and put it in the corner of the office and then looked back to David, who was torn by the need to not let Neil out of his sight, and by the knowledge that at some point he _had_ to. He waved a dismissive hand at Neil.

“Go watch TV in the foyer or something. I’ll let you know when it’s time to go.”

Neil shifted on his feet; he hadn’t said, but David could tell he was uneasy about his impending reunion with his teammates, given his battered state and changed appearance.

“There’s new banners up on the court,” David said, trying for a different tact. “Spring championship banners. There’s one for each of you.” That got Neil’s attention, and he jerked his head up. “You can go and have a look if you want.”

Neil nodded and started for the door but David called him back. “But I swear to god, Josten, if you so much as _think_ about trying to practice, I will bench you for the rest of the fucking season. You don’t even get to _touch_ a racquet until Abby says it’s okay. Got it?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Good,” David said, then returned his attention to his paperwork as Neil disappeared out of the door. He didn’t shut it behind him and David left it open, wanting to keep an ear out just in case Neil _did_ start to practice. He didn’t really think he would; he was still too hurt and even _Neil_ wasn’t that stupid, but better safe than sorry.

David had just about finished all of his paperwork for the day when Matt called.

“You landed?” David said when he picked up.

“Happy New Year to you too, Coach,” Matt said. “We’re at baggage claim.”

“Alright, I’ll drop Neil off at the dorm now then, he’ll be there when you get back. Kevin told you about Neil’s Christmas activities, yes?”

“Oh, he told us alright,” Matt said darkly.

“Okay, so you have some idea of what to expect, but I’m just going to reiterate. Neil looks like he’s gone six rounds with a Sasquatch and he won’t want to talk about it. This goes for all of you, but I’m particularly aiming it at you and Nicky because I know what you’re like — do _not_ smother him. I don’t think he can handle it at the minute.”

“We promise, Coach,” Matt said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

“Good. Oh, and don’t ask him about his eyes,” David added, but didn’t elaborate. Matt would see what he meant when he got back to the dorm anyway.

“Um. Okay.”

David rang off without saying goodbye and went to find Neil. It was going to be one hell of a day, and David just hoped Neil was ready for it.

* * *

 

David had received one phonecall from Neil to let him know that they had picked up Andrew and were back at Fox Tower, and after that David heard nothing else, so presumed the reunion had been violence free.

The shock of Neil showing up all beaten after his stay at Evermore had taken up so much of David’s energy and thought space that he hadn’t been able to properly think about Andrew’s return until now. He was going to be sober — completely sober — for the first time in three years. David hadn’t witnessed that version of Andrew yet, although he’d seen Andrew’s file and knew what past therapists had said; it didn’t make for pleasant reading. He’d seen Andrew staving off withdrawal with alcohol and dust, but it wouldn’t be the same, and David was still figuring out how to approach the situation.

Wednesday morning, shortly before the Foxes were due to arrive at the stadium, Nicky called David.

“Is Neil at the stadium?”

David felt himself fill with dread. “No. Why?”

“He’s supposed to be catching a ride with us but he’s not at the dorms and he’s not answering his phone.”

David sighed. “He’s not answering his phone because he’s let the battery die, no doubt. He’s probably lost track of time again, he’s been having trouble since he got back.”

“Don’t worry, Coach, I know his hiding spots,” Nicky said. “We’ll find him.”

Nicky sounded confident enough so David left them to it, and sure enough, they tracked Neil down. Even though they were late, they still got to the stadium before Matt got back with the girls.

Abby was back by now, and David had already filled her in on Neil’s sorry appearance. He didn’t need to ask her not to pry; Abby was good about that kind of thing.

“I can’t believe you trusted David to patch you up,” she said after she had given Neil a sad, searching look. “The man can barely wash a dish, much less clean stitches.”

“Shush, woman. I was careful with him.”

“Come on, let’s take a look at you,” Abby said to Neil, beckoning to him, and he followed her into her office where she shut the door behind them. David turned his attention to the others. Kevin was sporting quite the shiner on his face, undoubtedly Matt's handiwork.

“Andrew?” David asked.

“He’s outside. Waiting on you,” Aaron said. David nodded and headed out to the parking lot to find him.

He spotted Andrew at the far end, and when David reached him he took out his cigarettes, handing one to Andrew automatically. Andrew took it wordlessly as David lit it for him, and it was hard not to stare too long at Andrew’s face. David had been expecting it, but still, seeing someone so utterly devoid of any expression was a shock to the system.

“So, Coach,” Andrew said at last, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “We meet again.”

“That we do,” David said. “How does it feel to be sober?” David almost winced, immediately regretting the question, but it was too late to take it back; it was already out there, hanging in the air between them.

“It doesn’t feel much of anything,” Andrew said.

There wasn’t a hell of a lot David could say to that. “You been filled in on everything you missed while you’ve been away?”

Andrew held up his hand and started counting it down on his fingers. “My brother’s impending trial, spring championships, a fight at the banquet, nasty bruise on Kevin’s face courtesy of Matt who should really know better by now. . . oh, and my favourite,” Andrew waggled his thumb, “Neil offering himself up as Riko’s personal punching bag over Christmas. That about cover it, Coach?”

“Just about,” David said. Andrew looked past David, momentarily distracted, and David followed his gaze to see Matt and the girls pull up in Matt’s truck and make their way into the stadium. Once they’d disappeared, Andrew dragged his eyes back to David.

“You sober is going to be an adjustment for everybody, and I want it all to go as smoothly as possible. I know that you’re not exactly best pals with the upperclassmen and I don’t expect you to be. All I ask is that you refrain from killing your teammates. Easy, right?”

“As long as everyone remembers their place, we won’t have a problem,” Andrew said simply.

David sighed expansively; that was about as good as he was going to get. “Great,” he said. “Well, it’s good to have you back, anyway.”

Andrew cocked his head to the side. “Is it?”

“Yes, you little shit-sack. C’mon, let’s go in.”

David led Andrew back inside but whilst Andrew headed straight to meet up with his teammates, David detoured to his office to give them a few minutes to reacquaint themselves, both with Andrew’s return and Neil’s very visible injuries.

When David ventured back to his team, Matt was dabbing gingerly at a bloody nose and shooting a sour look at Andrew, and it was an effort for David not to roll his eyes.

“Didn’t we just have a talk about not killing your teammates?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm shooting out chapters pretty fast at the moment but it's because I probably won't have much time to write in the first couple weeks of april (I don't know yet, though, it depends). also, I have motivation which is rare for me so I'm trying to capitalise on it.
> 
> thanks for reading and kudosing and commenting, it warms my cold, dead heart.
> 
> <3


	12. Chapter 12

Thursday marked the first day back at practices and back at classes for the Foxes, and whilst everyone else was at the gym in the morning, David and Neil were at the stadium watching UT matches in preparation for the first game. David was anticipating Neil complaining about not being able to join his teammates yet and so specifically selected one of the more exciting games for Neil to watch, rightfully guessing that it would keep Neil quiet at least for a little while.

Allison, skilled as she was around a makeup brush, picked Neil up from the stadium to pretty him up for classes, and when the Foxes returned later for afternoon practice, David got his first look at her handiwork and let out a low whistle.

“Not bad, Allison,” he said.

Allison knew David well enough to know that this was the closest he got to a glowing compliment and she smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. “It’s a gift,” she said, then flounced off to get changed.

David handed Neil a disc of another match to watch, but it didn’t escape his notice that Neil’s enthusiasm to sit idly by had dipped considerably now that the rest of his team were here and not at the gym. They were too close for Neil not to feel like he was missing out or not pulling his weight, and whilst David sympathised, there was no chance in hell that he was letting Neil change out with the rest of them in his current state. David offered Neil one pep talk, and then left him to stew in his own frustration. David had a practice to oversee.

This first practice back was somewhat frustrating, partly because Neil was benched, but also because the players kept rotating as they came and went for their new semester chat with Betsy at Reddin. Andrew and Kevin had gone first, and David was anxious to get Andrew back on the court and see what kind of shape he was in, and how being sober would effect his willingness (or lack thereof) to play.

Andrew’s relationship with Exy was a complicated thing, a conundrum that David couldn’t really get a good read on. He _didn’t_ seem to care if the Foxes won or lost, not really, and yet when he had still been on his meds, part of him signing David’s contract in the first place had been because David was willing to let him skip a dose on game nights. David didn’t want to push — reading too much into anything Andrew did was guaranteed to get you nowhere, and David understood that, as infuriating as it was.

But this would be different. This was Andrew with nothing in his system at all; no more battling withdrawal because he didn’t _have_ to. Andrew’s apathy meant he had to deem his opponents challenging enough to actually try, and that was at official games. A sober Andrew at _practice_ was unchartered territory — David had no idea how it was going to go.

Once Andrew and Kevin got back from Reddin, David sent them running on laps around the outer court to get warmed up, and didn’t let them on the inner court until Aaron disappeared to go and see Betsy with Neil. Renee was still in the goal until David sent her and Allison off twenty minutes later to get ready for their own excursion to Reddin, and then David let the Foxes take a brief break for water.

Aaron came back and David left his players to a scrimmage while he watched from the home bench. Kevin and Dan were outnumbered on offense, having to go up against three backliners, but they gave it their all and soon enough, Kevin managed to take a shot on goal. Andrew deflected it straight back at Kevin’s feet, nifty footwork saving him from tripping over it. Kevin pointed his racquet at Andrew in warning but Andrew made no reaction, and David thought that perhaps Kevin was overreacting. However, as the scrimmage continued, every time an attempt was made on goal it was rebounded straight back at whoever made the shot, either Kevin or Dan. David was sort of pleased that Andrew was at least participating and clearly hadn’t lost his knack in goal, but at this rate he was going to injure his own teammates before they played a single match.

David carried on watching for a few minutes, and when one well aimed deflection from Andrew had Dan stumbling into Matt, David decided enough was enough, swearing colourfully before turning, all set to head onto the court to give Andrew a piece of his mind. As he turned, he noticed Neil had silently crept in and was watching the proceedings.

David was torn between the need to take steps to protect his player’s ankles, and not wanting to elicit Andrew’s ire. Eventually, health and safety won out, and perhaps it was time to test a theory anyway.

David snapped his fingers at Neil and gestured towards the court door. “Tell your pet psycho to knock it off before he cripples someone.”

“I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”

“You and I both know he will. Now get.” David pounded on the wall to halt play, then watched as Neil entered the court and headed straight to Andrew.

David obviously couldn’t hear the conversation, and judging by how close Neil had gotten to Andrew, David assumed he was pitching his voice low enough that the others wouldn’t overhear either. A good call, David thought. Another indication of how well Neil seemed to understand how Andrew worked, if he didn’t necessarily understand all the reasons _why_ that was how he worked.

From behind the court wall, David saw Andrew’s gaze drift over to where David was standing, and a moment later, Neil put his hand up, blocking Andrew’s view, or trying to regain his attention. The conversation went on a lot longer than a simple — _Hey can you please stop tripping up the offense line? Okay great thanks_ — so when Neil eventually nodded and came back to the home bench, David didn’t know whether Andrew had decided to comply or not until the Foxes resumed play. The next time a shot was made, Andrew cleared it down the court.

Neil came up to stand at David’s side. “Andrew said to tell you to mind your paygrade, and that he won’t let you get away with that a second time.”

It was all the confirmation David needed that to Andrew, Neil was more than just another teammate, and he let out an amused huff. “Just promise me this isn’t going to be a problem.”

“What?”

David sighed in exasperation. “I can’t tell if you’re being obtuse to fuck with me or if you’re really that dumb.” Neil just shot David another blank look, like he had back in Columbia when David had first sort of asked about Neil and Andrew. “I would pity you, but Andrew’s right. I don’t get paid enough to get involved in this. Figure it out yourself — on your own time. You’re supposed to be studying UT right now.”

David picked up his clipboard and ignored Neil’s questioning looks. He was starting to think that he had overstepped, but then again the upperclassmen were already betting on the situation and it was only a matter of time before one of them accidentally (or not) let something slip. It was probably a good idea to give Neil a nudge in the right direction.

“Goodbye,” David said without looking up, and Neil finally went back to the locker room.

* * *

 

The following Tuesday, Abby gave Neil her permission to return to practice, but it didn’t stop David and Abby from watching him like a hawk the entire time. It helped that the rest of the Foxes were just as keen for Neil to heal properly before playing — Kevin especially, who was in no mood for Neil ‘I’m Fine’ Josten and his bullshit so close to a game.

Neil was moving about as well as David expected him to — privy as he was to all of the bruises and stitches that were hidden by Neil’s gear — and he was happy enough to not pull him out of practice providing Neil knew his own limits. Neil understood; he was only hurting himself if he pushed too hard and caused further injury, and for someone as Exy-minded as Neil, that was unacceptable, so he played within his current capabilities and he stopped to stretch when he needed to. David exchanged a glance with Abby.

“Happy?” he asked her.

Abby sighed. “Close enough,” she said.

The 12th of January rolled around alarmingly quickly and brought with it wintery weather that had both David and Neil on edge about getting to their destination on time. Having to take a plane meant David wasn’t in control of the situation, a fact that made him more uncomfortable than it should. But it couldn’t be helped, and once they arrived at the airport, everything was still running to time.

David kept a watchful eye on Neil at the airport, fully aware that the last time he was here, it was to pick up a battered and broken Neil from the sidewalk outside. It was an unpleasant enough memory for David, let alone how Neil must have felt. Neil caught David watching and offered him a tiny nod, which David accepted as a non-verbal _I’m fine_ and left him to it.

Everyone now knew that Neil had been hiding more than just a bruise under the bandage on his face, and although David hadn’t been there when the upperclassmen found out, he heard all about it from Dan later.

“I know Neil’s. . . iffy about people, and obviously has a lot of trust issues, but we’re his friends,” she had said, shaking her head. “I don’t get it.”

David could do little except listen to her concerns; Neil had offered David a tiny insight into his checkered past on his return from the Raven’s nest, but it was a truth given in confidence and David would never betray that trust. And besides, he still didn’t really know enough. He was waiting until spring, when Neil had promised he’d give David some answers.

But in the meantime, there was games to be played.

After what felt like a thousand years of travel, David finally got his team to UT’s stadium and started them preparing for their match against the Longhorns. They shared team colours, which was somewhat disorientating, but David trusted that his team wouldn’t get confused — there was too much at stake.

After Dan had taken the Foxes on a few laps, they all sat down on the Away benches and David ran through the game plan to the roars of the crowd behind him. He had finished talking to the goalies and moved on to the strikers when he realised that Neil was no longer listening to him, his gaze snagged on something in the crowd behind David. He snapped his fingers in Neil’s face to get his attention, and when Neil glanced quickly back at David, looking like a deer in the headlights, David whipped his head around to see what Neil was looking at.

In the VIP section, not far away from several bodyguards, sat Riko Moriyama and Jean Moreau. Their very presence cast a dark shadow over the game’s proceedings and David had to give himself a second to breathe before turning back to Neil, to try and calm the fury that threatened to overflow. The audacity they had to show up here, for Palmetto State’s first spring championship game, after all the Foxes had endured at their hands.

David seethed with silent rage.

By now, the rest of the team had noticed, too. “What are they doing here?” asked a furious Matt, cutting a hard glare towards Riko.

“I’ll ask,” Andrew said calmly and made it two steps before David seized the back of his jersey and pulled him to a stop.

“You are not allowed to kill anyone the first game of the season,” David said emphatically, as tempting as it was to unleash Andrew on Riko. “Worry less about him and more about your offense line, got me?” David redirected his own attention back to his strikers, releasing his hold on Andrew. “Focus, Kevin. You too, Neil.”

Neil’s eyes had already drifted back to Riko and he seemed not to have heard David.

“Neil,” he said again, and Neil forced his gaze back to David. “Eyes on me.”

Whatever Neil saw in David’s expression slowly seemed to steel his resolve, and he waved the unwanted appearance of Riko and Jean off with an airiness David didn’t quite believe. “I’m starting to think he likes me after all,” he said.

The comment allowed Nicky to force some humour into the situation and try and break the tension, and it worked to a degree, as the Foxes slowly diverted their attention away from the Ravens and back towards Neil and Kevin.

Andrew took a seat on Neil’s left, neatly placing himself directly between the strikers and Riko, just a small gesture but one that had a marked effect on Neil, who nodded an okay at David to continue his pre-game lecture.

If Andrew’s silent support next to him hadn’t been enough, Neil was further buoyed by Andrew spouting out further evidence of his eidetic memory. He had only displayed this skill in passing before, but it was enough to catch David’s attention. Revealing he knew the heights of Longhorn backliners when he would have no need to remember that information confirmed it for David, and apparently for Neil too, who after getting Andrew to prove it, smiled.

“We’re going to win,” he said.

“You were expecting us to lose?” asked Dan with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” he said, then covered his mouth with his glove until he’d schooled his expression. Smiles were a rare thing on Neil’s face, David had noticed. “I’m just glad he’s here to see it. Let’s see if we can’t rattle him.”

“Let’s,” agreed David, just in time for the court doors to open. Out of time, as ever.

In the end, it hadn’t mattered that David was unable to finish going over his game-plan before the match, as the Foxes managed to scrape a narrow victory, 7-6. Dan and Kevin went off to speak to the press afterwards and David let them get on with it, instead watching from a distance as Renee spoke to Jean. He wasn’t sure why she had bothered, and Jean looked both confused and enamoured by her presence. Riko, for his part, also seemed not too sure what to make of the exchange, and soon enough Renee turned around and headed for the locker room, passing David on the way.

“What was that about?” he asked her.

“Nothing in particular, Coach,” Renee said brightly. “I was just being polite. They did come _all_ this way to see us, after all.” She flashed David a smile and he surmised that he wouldn’t get anything else out of her.

After a moment he headed into the locker room after her, took out a cigarette, and witnessed the tail end of what looked like a heated conversation between Neil and Kevin in French. When Neil turned away and headed David’s direction to get to the changing room, David gave him a measured look. “I don’t know if you recall, but we won. Any particular reason you’re trying to kill the good mood?”

“Just a difference of opinions,” Neil said as he continued walking, but then he hesitated halfway through the door and turned around. “Oh, and sorry in advance about the press. In my defense, they started it.”

David felt his blood run cold. “Christ alive. What did you do this time?”

“He called Riko a Class I douchebag. Not in so many words, but I think they got the message,” Dan said. She, at least, looked remarkably proud of the rookie striker and his smart mouth.

“I should have asked for hazard pay when I took this job,” David said, warding off a headache. “Out, out, out. I’m not dealing with your attitude problem until I’ve had a couple drinks. That goes for the rest of you, too. Get out of my sight and get cleaned up. If you’re not on the van with your gear in twenty minutes I’m leaving you here.” Another patented Wymack empty threat, and David was well aware his team knew it. But he did have appearances to keep up after all. Just before his team all scattered, David added a final word. “And hey. Good job tonight.”

The answering grins almost made up for the migraine David got when he watched the tape later on and saw for himself just what Neil had said to the press.

"Jesus," he said weakly to Abby. "Remember when Neil used to avoid the press like the plague? Those were the fuckin' days."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a tad shorter and just deals with the cars and allison incident. I think that the next main bit will be the blood in neil's locker and if I had tried to include that in this chapter too it just would have gotten crazy long. 
> 
> all being well the next chapter will be up tomorrow, I'm going to try my best (because updates might be slow the next couple of weeks).
> 
> as always thanks for reading and commenting! <333

Getting phonecalls from the cops first thing in the morning never boded for a good day, and this one was _definitely_ going to suck. All of the cars in the Fox Tower carpark had been trashed in a fit of Raven fan retaliation to Neil's not so subtle Riko bashing after the game against the Longhorns. As soon as he hung up with the cops, David called Dan.

The sun hadn’t quite risen, so it was no surprise that he woke her up.

“Coach,” she said hoarsely. “It’s too early.”

“Up and at ‘em, Captain. Ravens fans have trashed all the cars.”

That woke her up. “What?”

“I’ve just had a call from the cops, go and look.”

“Hold on, Coach,” Dan said, then David heard her speaking to her roommates in the background. “Allison, go and check your car. Coach says they’ve been trashed.” David heard muffled swearing and then Dan came back on the line. “I can hear the commotion now. Are you coming here?”

“I’m about to leave, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Cops want the coaches to try and calm their teams down.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Dan said. “It’s everyone’s cars, then? Not just the Exy team?”

“Yep,” David said grimly. “You should go and let the others know.”

“Yeah, I’ll go and get Matt and Neil right now. I’ll leave Andrew to Renee.”

“Smart. I’ll see you in a few, kiddo.”

As soon as David hung up he went straight to his car and drove the short way to Fox Tower. He parked down the street out of the way and as soon as he was out of the car, the smell hit him; rotting meat or something equally horrible. He hurried to the carpark and took in the carnage — because it _was_ carnage.

Students littered the carpark, some clearly just bystanders looking on in shock and sympathy as the car owners milled around their ruined vehicles with varying degrees of anguish. Broken windows, spray paint, scratches, chips and dents were just some of the damaging features David could see, as well as a few hunks of meat thrown on the hoods of some unlucky cars. That was the source of the smell.

Cops were making the rounds from car to car, and judging by how close they still were to the carpark entrance, they hadn’t reached any of the Foxes’ cars yet. David walked further, keeping on the lookout for his errant team, dreading the state their vehicles would be in. And all their cars were so fucking _expensive_. David quickened his step.

When he finally spotted his team over by Andrew's car, he didn’t even get a chance to look at the full damage, because they were clearly currently having a situation of their own. Renee stood between the upperclassmen and Andrew’s lot, a quiet and calm barrier. Behind her, Matt had a protective arm around Allison, who was rubbing at her neck. Dan had a look of pure fury on her face as she rounded on Andrew, but by now David was close enough to intervene.

“What the fuck is going on here?” He swept a furious glare over his Foxes and waited for someone to speak up.

“Nothing,” Dan said at last, venom dripping in her voice. “Just rethinking every time we defended our decision to recruit the monsters.”

Great. Because more in-fighting was _just_ what David needed.

“Hey,” Nicky interjected awkwardly. “Andrew might have overreacted, but he has a point. She did start it.”

Matt shook his head angrily. “Don’t even try to justify it. You don’t return a punch with a broken neck.”

“Where you come from, maybe not,” Andrew said casually.

“The real world?”

“Don’t. A privileged child like you has never seen the real world. Don’t speak of it like you understand.”

This was going nowhere, and David still didn’t know what the fuck had happened. “Enough,” he snapped. He clicked his fingers at the upperclassmen. “Where are you parked?” When Dan gestured over her shoulder, David pointed in a clear order for them to get moving. “Go and wait with your cars. I’ll be there in two seconds.” No one moved for a moment. “Go, I said.”

Finally, they turned around after another stony stare at Andrew, and headed back towards Matt's and Allison’s cars. David turned his full attention to the remaining Foxes, looking at Neil last; he was the most likely to give David a straight answer.

“No one answered my question. What the fuck is going on?”

“Allison hit Aaron, so Andrew hit back,” Neil said.

David bit back on the immediate rage and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Yelling would get him nowhere with Andrew, as satisfying as it might feel in the moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose and waited until he was sure his voice would be calm before dropping it and addressing his goalkeeper.

“Andrew, we are going to talk about this. No, I am going to talk about this and you are going to listen. Today, but not now. After the rest of this chaos has been sorted out. Do you understand?” Andrew just stared blankly. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You’ll talk, I’ll listen.”

Well, it was a response at least. “I’m going to check on them. I’ll be right back. When I come back, we are going to focus on the real problem and the real enemy. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Nicky said.

“Yes, Coach,” Neil said.

David took off towards the upperclassmen without another word, quickly catching up to them gathered around Allison and Matt’s wrecked cars. He spared them a brief glance, then looked to Allison, who met his appraising look with a steely glare of her own.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Peachy keen, Coach, you know me,” she said, all forced bravado. David wasn’t fooled but he let it slide.

“He really could have hurt her,” Matt said. “It’s lucky Neil was there. He wouldn’t even listen to Renee.”

“Neil gave me the barest of rundowns, but what actually happened?” David asked.

No one answered immediately, and it was Renee who eventually spoke up after a little nod from Allison. “We went over to check on them and see the damage to Andrew’s car, and as we got closer we heard Aaron start arguing with Neil — blaming him, I think — and then he said something about Seth and. . .” Renee trailed off and glanced at Allison, who was now looking at her car with fierce concentration. Renee continued. “Allison backhanded Aaron, and I just wasn’t fast enough. Andrew went for her, grabbed her arm and then forced her down by the back of her neck and held her there. I’m sorry Allison. I should have moved faster.”

Allison’s eyes darted to Renee. “You don’t owe me an apology. And I wouldn’t accept one from Andrew anyway. It doesn’t matter now. He doesn’t frighten me.”

David frowned. “How did Neil get him to let go? Did he just ask?”

“We don’t know, Coach,” Dan said. “He started talking to him in German, no idea what he said. And then Aaron said something, and after that Andrew looked at Neil for a minute before letting Allison go. Then he just got up like nothing had happened.”

“I dunno how the fuck Neil does it, man. It’s like he can talk Andrew into anything,” Matt said.

“We _do_ know why,” Allison said. “And as soon as one of them admits it, I’m gonna make a fortune.”

David sighed. “Nothing good can come from antagonising Andrew, so I wouldn’t try and back him into a corner if I were you. Look, I can’t have him attacking any of you lot and I’m gonna talk to him, _believe_ me, but don’t forget that loyalties with Andrew are very black and white. The minute you touch one of his, he’ll retaliate. It won't matter to him if they deserve it.”

“Coach,” Dan said through gritted teeth. “We can’t just give them a free pass to do or say whatever the fuck they want.”

“I know, and we’re not. If any of them say anything, feel free to rip ‘em new ones. _Verbally_. Yell at them. Whatever you want. Just don’t hit them, because _you_ might stop at a punch, but Andrew might _not_.”

“Can we punch them if Neil is there to save us?” Matt asked.

“Shut up, Boyd.”

* * *

 

It took an age for the cops to get round everybody, and then the insurance people did a lap of their own, but finally there was nothing else that could be done; the cars were all getting towed away to see about repairs. Allison and Matt’s seemed like they should be fixable, but David highly doubted Andrew’s was — the repairs would be far too much and his insurance definitely wouldn’t cover it all.

David led the upperclassmen back over to Andrew and the others, and after the Foxes took a vote on what to eat, he took Andrew with him to pick up lunch for everyone.

Andrew sat in the passenger seat, and when David started to drive, he managed to endure the silence for a full minute before breaking. “Andrew Joseph Minyard, if you _ever_ harm one of your teammates again, I won’t have any other option than to cut you from the team. You know that, right?”

Andrew didn’t even deign to look David’s direction, just stared out of the window like the whole conversation was boring to him. And it probably was.

“Jesus, Andrew, at least acknowledge that you can hear me.”

“Loud and clear, Coach.” He finally turned his head to look at David. “So, while we’re on the subject, if Matt punches Kevin again, or Allison hits my brother, they’re out too, right?”

David sighed. “I already talked to Matt about the punch, but in fairness, he had just found out that Neil spent Christmas in Evermore and Kevin knew about it. And Aaron? No offense, Andrew, but it sounds like Aaron had it coming.”

“That is beside the point. My rules are so simple, Coach — don’t touch what’s mine. And yet the upperclassmen can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves. All I did was retaliate what they started.”

“Andrew, you could have broken Allison’s neck,” David said with dangerous quiet. “I can’t have a repeat of that, understand? Promise me it won’t happen again.”

Andrew flickered his eyes back to the window. “I understand. But you know I can’t promise you that, Coach. Whether or not it happens again is entirely up to the upperclassmen. I keep _my_ word, but they can’t seem to keep _theirs_.”

It was no use trying to argue with Andrew’s logic, because technically speaking, it was sound. It was Andrew’s _methods_ that were the issue here. “I’ve already spoken to them and reminded them not to touch any of your group, and I’m sure after this little stunt they’ll manage not to do it again.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Really, David should have just left the conversation there, but he just had to ask. “What did Neil say to you to make you let go of Allison?”

Andrew’s eyes darted to David and then away again just as quickly. “Oh, Coach, what did I say about minding your paygrade?”

“I know. I’m just your coach and your problems are your own. I remember what I said when you signed your contract. But then by your own logic, you seem to consider Neil a personal problem.”

“Coach, let’s rehash this morning’s activities, shall we? Cars wrecked by Ravens fans in a direct retaliation to what Neil said after the game. It seems to _me_ like Neil is _everyone’s_ personal problem.”

And goddamn, if that wasn’t just the truest thing David had heard all day.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my goddddd despite how many times I have read these fucking books, I still somehow managed to forget just how much shit happens in TKM. and like, super important stuff that I couldn't really skip? so yeah, lots of book dialogue again -- I don't like to use too much of it if I can help it because it feels like cheating sort of, but in some cases it's unavoidable. wymack's POV in these scenes is relevant to this fic so I had to include it.
> 
> that being said, here, have this super long chapter!

A new day dawned on a defaced campus with more bullshit from Ravens fans, the outer walls of the Foxhole Court decorated in rude and nasty graffiti, featuring some rather crude death threats. David warned the Foxes away until it got cleaned up and spent the next half hour on the phone with campus security, chewing them out for not doing their goddamn jobs properly.

The next time the press got close enough, David managed to subtly call out the Ravens, and soon after Edgar Allan’s president spoke out to try and quell the discord. And then Tetsuji Moriyama released a statement of his own, condemning the behaviour but then ending it with, “You cannot house train a dog by beating it a day late; it is not smart enough to correlate action and punishment. You have to discipline it the moment it misbehaves. Leave it to us to correct them on the court.”

It was downright offensive, and Dan in particular was furious at the implication, but at the very least the vandalism stopped. David didn’t mind his team getting angry. Honestly, the angrier they were at the Ravens, the better — it was a great motivator, and as long as they worked through it on the court, that anger served a purpose.

However, once the outside problems faded out, the internal problems became abundantly clear. It was like new lines had been drawn in the sand; Allison (understandably) was steering well clear of Andrew, Dan and Matt were talking to Neil but studiously ignoring the rest of Andrew’s group, and Aaron wasn’t talking to anyone at _all_ , communicating instead in death glares. He was ignoring Neil entirely. David had no idea what had happened; there seemed to be more to it now than just what had happened with Allison. David actually pulled Nicky aside at one point just to ask him what the fuck Aaron’s problem was.

“Ah,” Nicky said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Neil sort of stuck his nose in where Aaron didn’t think it belonged, and Aaron is taking it out on. . . well, _everyone_ , apparently.”

“Okay,” David sighed. He was too old for this shit. “Can Neil _un-stick_ his nose before my team implodes?”

“It’s a little late for that now, Coach, damage is done. Aaron could try and fix it, but he’d have to get his head out of his ass first.” Nicky shrugged and offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Coach.”

In lieu of any better ideas, David stuck with what he normally did when there was in-fighting between his team and left them to work it out amongst themselves. Unsurprisingly, Kevin was an absolute nightmare, yelling at the team for their distractions before rounding on Neil specifically. David was watching from the Home bench and so couldn’t hear the specifics of what was being said, but Neil’s responding, “Fuck you,” was easy enough to lip-read. Words dissolved into shoves, and it took both Matt and Dan several minutes to calm down an irate Kevin. After that, Kevin and Neil just ignored each other — and they were the two who could usually be counted on put Exy first while they were on the court (and off it, in Kevin’s case).

David eventually dismissed everyone for a break, and followed Neil to the locker room. “I’m really interested to know how this went from an us-and-them feud to an all-out war. Popular opinion is it’s your fault. That true?”

“I had good intentions,” Neil said.

“I don’t care what your intentions were. We can’t afford to lose Friday’s game, not after what they did to us and especially not after what Coach Moriyama said. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re not exactly in winning shape right now.”

“I know. I’m sorry about the timing, but I’m not sorry for anything I said.”

“I don’t want your apologies. I want this fixed as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Coach.” Neil moved to head back to the court when David realised that with everything else going on, he hadn’t checked in on Neil in a while, and he put a hand out to stop him.

“Speaking of timing, how’s your mental clock doing? Does having a set schedule again help any?”

“Not as much as having them all here does. I’m not alone enough to get lost.”

“Good. Now come on. Let’s see if we can’t salvage this mess,” David said.

Good intentions, Neil had said, and when it came to the Foxes, David trusted that Neil _always_ had good intentions. Neil cared about his teammates, and even though Aaron was clearly his least favourite, if Neil had gotten involved with Aaron’s business, David had to think that there was a good reason for it. A reason that probably had something to do with Andrew and the cold war the twins seemed so set on keeping up.

During Andrew’s absence, Neil had been a uniting force between the upperclassmen and the others, with the whole lot of them spending more time together outside games than David had ever known them too. And even before then, Neil had been the key factor in Andrew extending an invitation for the upperclassmen to join them in Columbia for Halloween.

Somehow, in between showing up all skittish and flighty, hitchhiking back from Columbia after a disastrous outing with the monsters, and willingly going to Evermore over Christmas to try and protect his team, Neil had become the heart of the Palmetto State Foxes. And that was no small feat.

David was pretty sure he knew who he wanted to be captain after Dan graduated.

* * *

 

Practices throughout the rest of the week improved ever so slightly day by day. It was nowhere near ideal, but at least Neil and Kevin eventually started talking to each other again, and Dan and Matt made an obvious effort to put aside their anger at Andrew as the game against Belmonte loomed over them.

Aaron remained an insufferable asshole, but David could only ask for so much. There was no point in talking to Aaron anyway; he wouldn’t want to hear it.

The Foxes weren’t in the best shape for a game, but they always tended to play better on game nights anyway, and David still trusted them to get the job done. They arrived at the stadium an hour before serve on Friday night, and after they filed into the locker room, David headed off to wait, flicking the TV on to check for the buzz on the game.

A few minutes later, Nicky burst into the foyer in a panic. All he got out was, “Coach, hurry, it’s Neil,” before David was on his feet and running for the locker room.

What he saw stopped him short; Neil’s hands were covered in blood, as well as splashes all over his clothes. Andrew held Neil’s wrist in his hand, stopping Neil from punching his locker if his posture was anything to go by. Neil’s gear was soaked through in a pile on the floor, but David couldn’t see the source of the blood, and there was so _much_ of it.

“Is that yours?” David asked urgently.

“Coach, my gear,” Neil said, and David had never heard him sound so anguished, even when he had been holding Neil up in his kitchen after Christmas. “It’s—”

“It’s not his,” Andrew interrupted calmly, then let go of Neil and returned to his own locker. “He’s fine.”

“Peroxide. Does Abby have any in her office?” Neil asked, but David was having trouble registering Neil’s words, still trying to piece together the picture in front of him. He spotted the plastic bag now that had obviously contained the blood — a trap in Neil’s locker. A prank, maybe? And a really fucking nasty one. When David took too long to respond, Neil made to move past him and this jolted David out of his own head and he put an arm out to stop him. “I need to clean my clothes before the blood sets or I won’t have anything to wear tonight,” insisted Neil, like it was the only thing that mattered.

“And I need you to derail that one-track fucking mind of yours for two seconds and focus on the fact that you are covered in someone or something’s blood. Are you okay?”

“Andrew already said I’m fine,” Neil said, sounding irritated by the delay.

“I’m not asking Andrew. I’m asking you.”

“Here, I’ve got an extra towel,” Matt said, springing into action as he retrieved said towel and headed to the bathroom to soak it. David’s eyes didn’t leave Neil’s face, but he heard when Matt let out a startled, “What the hell?” that echoed off the bathroom walls.

Neil was the first to move but David and Andrew were right behind him, halting in the bathroom door. On the far wall, written in blood, read: “Happy 19th Birthday, Jr.”.

Neil went deathly pale, a stark contrast to the blood still on his skin and clothes. David felt like he’d wandered into a horror movie scene. The message was clearly for Neil, but who it was _from_ was the question. David knew Neil had been running from someone — had he been found? The whole stunt stank of Riko shenanigans, but David still didn’t understand the message. Neil, apparently, did.

“Junior,” Matt read off the wall. “Who’s. . . who’s that for? Is it for Neil?” he asked in uneasy confusion, as Nicky muttered something anxiously to Kevin in the background. Kevin looked shell-shocked, Aaron looked interested, and Andrew, as ever, was the eye of the storm, completely unaffected.

“The police,” David found himself saying. “We should call the police.” All at once, Neil’s hand was squeezing David’s elbow, tighter than Neil probably realised and getting blood on his shirt.

“Coach,” he said, and David was taken aback by how calm Neil suddenly sounded. “You’re going to have to leave them out of this one. Okay? Let’s just get through the game. I’ll clean this up afterward. No one else has to know.”

“Give me one good reason not to cancel the game and pull security in here,” David demanded, teeth gritted. He couldn’t put his team’s safety at risk. He _wouldn’t_.

“I can’t give you that yet,” Neil said, something close to pleading in his eyes. “I told you to wait until May.”

David was torn between the need, as a responsible adult, to get the authorities involved in what was definitely a criminal situation, and between wanting to stick by Neil and trust that he knew what he was doing. David didn’t know what to say, and so didn’t say anything and eventually Neil let go and took the towel from Matt. He scrubbed the bloody message off the wall, wiped his hands clean and dropped the now dirty towel into the sink.

“Neil,” Matt started.

“Change out, Matt,” Neil replied immediately, then headed back to his ruined locker.

Nobody else moved; still stuck in the surreality of the situation, and it took Neil a moment to notice. When he did, he looked to Kevin with something akin to frustration and started speaking to him in French. Kevin made a brief reply, and when Neil snapped a retort, Kevin gave him a considered look before turning to his assembled teammates.

“Get moving. We have a game to win.”

“You’re joking,” Matt spat out. “You’re really going to ignore the fact that this just happened? Neil, you look like a Carrie stunt double. You don’t even want to get security up here while the scene’s still fresh?”

David privately agreed but Neil was already shaking his head. “No. I don’t.”

“You’re joking,” Matt repeated, incredulous.

“Riko is an egotist and an asshole. He wants us to react to this. If we do, he wins. Don’t give him that satisfaction. Pretend this never happened and focus on the Terrapins.”

David looked at Neil for one long moment. Neil had clearly narrowed down all his thought processes to the task at hand, and the task at hand was winning this game. David made his decision at last, hating himself a little for it.

“No one’s changing in here. Get your gear and get out. You can have the girls’ room when they’re done with it.” He whirled on Neil, pointing at him emphatically. “I will give you one chance tonight. If I think your head isn’t in the game, I will pull you so fast you’ll get whiplash and Dan will take your place. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Coach.”

David scooped up Neil’s blood sodden clothes from the pile on the floor. “I’ll get Abby cleaning this. Someone loan Neil another towel.”

“Thank you,” Neil said.

“Shut up,” David snapped.

* * *

 

Explaining the blood to a panicked Abby took some doing, and although she looked slightly disappointed that David was going ahead with the match in light of the situation, she didn’t say anything. David was grateful; he already had enough doubts.

Getting Neil’s uniform clean was near impossible, and although they got it to a just about passable state, David knew he’d have to order another set. The idea of Neil still having to wear the spoiled kit for tonight’s game made David feel a little nauseous, but Neil had insisted after all.

Before they had started cleaning Neil’s uniform, David had Abby squeeze some of the blood into a vial from her office.

“We’ll need to find out what kind of blood it is,” he said. “It could be fucking _human_ for all we know.” He shuddered at the thought. “Riko’s a fucking psychopath.”

“No arguments here,” Abby agreed darkly.

After first serve, Abby headed out to get the blood tested while David kept a closer watch than ever on his team. They were all playing more aggressively than usual, thanks to heightened tensions, but none more so than Neil, who had already acquired a yellow card by half time.

Aggression aside though, he didn’t seem to be distracted, and David found himself thankful for Neil’s Exy tunnel-vision for once.

In the second half, the Foxes closed ranks entirely. David didn’t know whether the locker incident had made everyone angry and hungry for victory, or if it was just out of sheer desperation to get to the end of the game and leave this entire day behind them. Either way, he wasn’t complaining, and was further buoyed when Abby returned from the science lab.

“Well?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Not human, thank god. It’s from birds.”

David exhaled slowly, utter relief that they hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon a murder mystery. “That’s something, at least.”

Abby nodded towards the court. “How’re they doing?”

“They are angry, and they are winning,” David said with a smile.

They managed to not only hold on to their lead, but score once more, and the Foxes came out of the match with an 8-5 victory.

Despite the circumstances, David allowed himself to relish the win, grinning broadly at his team when they filed off the court, letting Dan, Matt and Nicky run off to rile up the crowd excitedly. He happily let them go, knowing the press would catch them, and followed the rest of the team into the locker room.

The brief smile Neil had been wearing dropped immediately on re-entering the locker room. He turned to David. “Do you have a mop I can use?”

“Shut your face. You’re not dealing with that right now,” David said, narrowing his eyes in irritation. “We just won.”

“Eight-five,” Allison cut in from where she stood off to the side, a hard look in her eyes. “I guess you can consider that your birthday present from the team.”

“Allison,” Renee said.

Allison didn’t want to be interrupted and pointed a finger at Renee without looking away from Neil. “No. I’ve hit the limit of what bullshit I’ll tolerate this week, let alone this year. I need to know how much worse this pissing contest between Neil and Riko is going to get.”

David couldn’t blame her for wanting answers; she definitely wasn’t the only one who wanted them. “We are going to talk about this, but not until everyone’s here,” he said placatingly. “Go get washed up. We’re going in turns again. Ladies first.” As soon as Renee and Allison had left, David turned on the boys. “I’m instating a new team rule where everyone is required to be happy after a win. You downers are going to suck the life out of me before my time.”

It was the wrong crowd — the cheerful ones were still courtside. David was met with stony silence and so gave in to defeat and stomped out while they moped. He needed to psych himself up for the team meeting re: blood in the lockers anyway.

* * *

 

After the team left the stadium, David exchanged one long look with Abby then slumped onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh.

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ,” he said. There was a lot of information to digest, and David tried to work through it methodically.

Aaron, despite barely having said a word to anyone all week, proved what a smart little fucker he actually was and vindictively called Neil out on running from someone in front of the entire team, forcing Neil to admit to parts about himself that he was in no way ready to do. Neil fired back, trying to deflect by accusing Aaron of just being bitter about Neil bringing Katelyn into Aaron’s ongoing fight with Andrew to try and force them to work on their relationship. To top it all off, Andrew fucking admitting that he had caused the accident that killed Aaron’s mother in a room full of people with working ears. Then a conversation in German that was emotionally fraught on Aaron’s side and angry on Andrew’s, before he swallowed his rage and went dead eyed again.

The defining part of the discussion, however, was finding out just what Riko had on Neil that made him such a thorn in their side this year.

“He knows who I am,” Neil had said, as cryptic as ever. More interestingly was that Kevin _also_ seemed to know who Neil was, mentioning something about the reputation of Neil’s family. One that ran in similar circles to the Moriyama’s, and Neil didn’t want any connection to them, hence the running. David had to wonder at how long Kevin had known. Since he recruited Neil? A question for a later date, perhaps.

Neil had indulged his teammates with a few answers now that Aaron had backed him into a corner and he had no other options. Yes, his auburn hair and blue eyes were his natural looks, and aging himself up had meant he hadn’t needed parental consent in Millport.

David hadn’t been expecting to get any answers about Neil’s past until May, so to get so many in one night was a little disorienting, and he could tell Abby felt the same.

“Poor Neil,” she said, sinking into the seat next to David. “I wonder how long he had been on his own for, until he came here.”

“Long enough,” David said gruffly. “He’s a Fox now. It doesn’t matter _how_ he got here, it just matters that he did. He’s got us now.” David turned his head and caught sight of the locker room door. “And speaking of, I’m gonna go and clean up the mess in Neil’s locker. I don’t want him to have to come in tomorrow and be reminded.”

“I’ll help you,” Abby said.

“No, you should go on home. It won’t be a pleasant job, Abby.”

“David,” Abby said firmly. “Let me help.”

In the end, David was glad of her insistence on helping as it sped up the process, but it was a horrible job. The stench of the blood was enough to get David gagging more than once, but he was driven by his anger and frustration. He had failed his team; he was supposed to protect them, but someone had gotten into their locker room; their _turf_ , and pulled a disgusting and unsettling prank. _Prank_ wasn’t even the right word for it, but David couldn’t think of the right one. Pranks were supposed to be fun. This was horrifying.

When the locker room was finally spotless, Abby went home and David took his time locking up his office and checking the stadium before heading back to his own apartment. The security guards were doing the rounds, but David couldn’t say he had all that much trust in them anymore. Too much had happened on their watch.

David didn’t particularly like it, but security cameras were the right way to go. At least they could stop something like this happening again. With that in mind, David fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

The next morning, David picked up breakfast and headed to the stadium to meet Neil, who had called when he had seen that the previous night’s mess had already been cleaned up. Since he was already there, David had decided to get Neil’s input on potential recruits for next year. David needed to double the line.

After arranging the folders and explaining what they were doing to Neil, the two of them sat down and each started looking through the files. A memory of the previous year popped unbidden into David’s mind, of him and Kevin watching a tape of the Millport Dingos and their starting striker Neil Josten. The juxtaposition of then and now made David smile, but he pushed the thought aside and carried on working.

David was pleased to see that Neil carried out the task with the seriousness it deserved, and David took recruitment to the Foxes very seriously indeed. Neil looked over each folder of prospective strikers with careful consideration, and in the end narrowed them down to a stack that David and Kevin could whittle down between them.

“Anything else?” Neil asked after they were finished for the morning.

“Free to go. You need a ride?”

“I’m fine,” Neil said.

“Uh huh,” David replied, just about managing not to roll his eyes. He didn’t look at Neil as he cleared away their breakfast trash and made for the door, but nonchalantly spoke up just as Neil was about to disappear. “By the way, I’m making you vice-captain next year.”

He had known that Neil would be surprised, and Neil didn’t disappoint, slowly twisting back around and choking out a, “You’re what?”

“Dan’s got to leave eventually. She needs a replacement.”

“Not me. You should be asking Matt or Kevin.” David had also foreseen this argument, but he didn’t care about Neil’s complaints.

“Talented players with more experience, but they don’t have what this team needs. Do you know why I made Dan captain?” David asked, continuing when Neil shook his head. He always loved an excuse to sing Dan’s praises anyway. “I knew the moment I saw her she could lead this team. It didn’t matter what her teammates thought of her; it didn’t matter what the press thought of her. She refused to be a failure so she refused to give up on this team. That’s what I needed to get the Foxes off the ground.”

It had been the best decision David had ever made in regard to the Foxes; David was immeasurably proud of Dan and everything she had accomplished. But _this_ was about Neil.

“You’re the only one here who can succeed her. Didn’t you notice? They’re uniting around and behind you. That’s something special. You’re something special."

“You don’t even know who I am,” Neil said, sounding a little broken.

“The hell I don’t,” David growled. “You’re Neil Josten, nineteen year-old recruit from Millport, Arizona. Born March 31st, five-foot-three, right-handed, stick size three. Starting striker for my Foxes and most improved freshman striker in NCAA Class I Exy.”

Neil opened his mouth to argue but David wasn’t done. “No. Look me in the eye and tell me if you think I care who you used to be. Hm? I care about who you are right now and who you can be going forward. I’m not asking you to forget your past, but I am telling you to overcome it.”

“I can’t captain them,” Neil said weakly. “I won’t.”

David had also expected this refusal. But he had made his decision, and Neil didn’t get to turn it down. David didn’t care if it made him unpopular. “This isn’t a democracy. You don’t get to vote on what you do or don’t want to do. I make the rules and you get to deal. And you are going to deal with it. You need this as much as they need you. Give me one good reason why you’d try to turn this down.”

“I—” Neil started, but he didn’t seem to have anything he could add. “I have to go,” he settled on at last.

David might have pushed further, but Neil looked supremely uncomfortable and so he decided to let it go. “See you Monday,” he said, and Neil practically bolted.

If he managed to come up with any further complaints, David would listen to them, but he stood by his decision. Neil wasn’t just the obvious choice to be Dan’s replacement, he was the _only_ choice, and David didn’t mean that as a slight against the rest of his team.

Neil was the heart of the Foxes, and going forward he would be the heart of the Foxes from a position of leadership whether he liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found so many typos editing this lmao, hopefully I got them all but there might be some still in there. don't worry, I'll spot them eventually and fix them when I do :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some time so managed to do a chapter. it's kind of a filler chapter I guess before shit starts to get Real, but it's still important linking information I think? I dunno. either way, it's at least a chapter that's not super depressing. yay!
> 
> I thought this was going to end up being less than 2,000 words as well but it's actually closer to 3,000 so that's a bonus I guess.
> 
> enjoy! <333

As horrifying as the incident before Friday nights game had been, it had served as somewhat of a uniting force come practices the following week. It had been a reminder of who the Foxes were _really_ up against, and the upperclassmen especially seemed to have decided to put aside their differences with Andrew’s lot and pull together against the larger threat.

Neil had shown up to practices not only markedly more steady than he had been on Friday and when David had seen him Saturday morning, but also with no further complaints about being made vice-captain, which David was deciding to take as a win. Because he was watching Neil so closely, it didn’t escape his notice that whenever there was a lull in practice, or during the team meetings in the lounge afterwards, Neil’s eyes would drift to Andrew. If Andrew noticed the extra attention (and David had to assume that he _did_ ; Andrew was very observant after all) then he didn’t say anything. David wondered if something had happened between them over the weekend, or if Neil had just had an Andrew shaped epiphany, but then he remembered that it wasn’t his paygrade and wasn’t his business. Either way, Neil seemed okay despite his frightening locker incident, and that was good enough for David.

On Monday, David left the stadium at the same time as the Foxes for a change, and he walked out with Dan so he could let her know about Neil.

“I’m making him vice-captain for next year,” he said. “What do you think?”

“He’s the perfect choice,” Dan agreed, “but I can’t see him wanting to do it. Have you told him yet?”

David let out a brief, low chuckle. “Yeah, I told him alright.”

Dan’s eyes narrowed. “How’d he take it?”

“Not great. Seemed to think Kevin or Matt would be better options.”

Dan pulled a face. “No way, not for _this_ team. Does he need talking into it?” She grinned. “I can be pretty persuasive.”

David shook his head. “Nah. He’ll do it. He didn’t mention it today, at least, which I’m taking as a good sign. Think I just took him by surprise.”

They stepped out into the carpark just in time to see Andrew flick away his cigarette, climb into the driver’s seat of a sleek Maserati and then peel out of the parking lot like the cops were on his tail. David raised his eyebrows.

“Didn’t realise they gave out Maseratis as rental cars. What the fuck am I paying for?”

“Oh, no, Coach,” Dan said. “That’s not a rental. That’s the monsters’ new ride.”

David stopped short. “ _What_?”

“We only saw it for the first time this morning, Andrew must have got it over the weekend. Matt’s in love.” Dan rolled her eyes fondly.

“Where the flying _fuck_ did Andrew get the money for a Maserati?”

Dan shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Underground drug cartel?”

David snorted despite himself, then gave an exaggerated shrug of his own. “Fuck it. I’m sure we’re all better off not knowing.”

“You said it, Coach.”

* * *

 

On Wednesday, the news broke about Kengo Moriyama being admitted to hospital after collapsing, so David messaged his team to let them know. Anything that would affect Riko had the potential to have a ripple effect and impact the Foxes, too, even something like this that had nothing to do with them.

David watched his TV screen as the press shoved their microphones in Riko’s face to try and get a comment, and wrinkled his nose at the distasteful line of questioning, especially when the estrangement between Riko and his father was a well-known fact. David couldn’t say he felt all that sorry for Riko considering the shit he’d put the Foxes through this year, but an angry or upset Riko was a dangerous one, and David was well aware that the rematch against the Ravens was fast approaching. Of course, that was provided the Foxes kept winning, but David had every faith in his team.

His faith was well placed, as the Foxes comfortably won their match in Arkansas on Friday, securing their spot in the death match. There would be no match the following week, but David still had his team practicing like there _was_ one; complacency got them nowhere.

In their occasional downtime, however, David had the rest of the team look through the potential recruits that he and Neil had already picked, in order to help narrow them down. Dan, Renee and Allison were a great help, despite the fact that they were searching for their own eventual replacements. David felt a twinge of sadness at the fact, but at least there was another whole year with them before they graduated. He shook these thoughts out of his head anyway; he still had to get the Foxes through _this_ season, so there was no point thinking about the next one until he absolutely had to.

Kevin was no less difficult this year than he had been the year before, his anger only increasing as he flipped through file after file.

“Coach, is this the best we’ve got? Seriously?”

David just stared back at Kevin, who started shaking his head in irritation.

“This isn’t good enough. Put out a second request.”

“Believe it or not, Kevin, but not everybody was raised to be a champion. How about you try and be a little more accepting of the strikers we have on offer and focus on their _potential_ if you’re too pig headed to see their current value?” David shot a pointed look at Neil which he knew Kevin would understand after the experience of Neil’s own recruitment. However, alerting Kevin to Neil’s presence only served to remind Kevin that Neil was still holding the file of a striker who Kevin thought was wholly inadequate.

“Neil, for fuck’s sake, put that _down_ , we’re not recruiting her,” Kevin said in exasperation, rounding on Neil.

Neil didn’t reply but he did clutch the folder close to his chest and backed up away from Kevin, who spent the next ten seconds trying to wrestle it out of Neil’s grasp. Tenacious little fucker that he was, Neil didn’t let go, and when Kevin gave up trying to make him, he pointed a furious finger in Neil’s face.

“You are a know-nothing amateur and there is no way that we’re signing her.” He whirled back around to David. “I’m not kidding, Coach, this selection is _bullshit_. Send out a second request.”

“Kevin. Shut up.”

Kevin reared back in anger, his face turning red. “We’re _finally_ doing well, I’m not having us throw it all away next season on a handful of shitty recruits! Send. Out. A Second. Request.” The last sentence was punctuated with condescending jabs of Kevin’s finger, and David felt the last of his patience ebb away.

“The last time I checked, _I_ was the coach of the Palmetto State Foxes, not Kevin fucking _Day_ , so I’m going to need you to shelve that fucking attitude before I bench you out of spite. Don’t fucking test me, Kevin, I’ll _do_ it,” David said, his voice raising to a higher volume than he meant it to.

Kevin opened his mouth to unleash what David was sure would be another loud rehashing of the same damn point he’d been trying to make for the last ten minutes, but Abby stepped in between them, a placating hand in front of each of their faces.

“Alright, _alright_ , that’s enough. Kevin, go over there,” Abby pointed to the far side of the locker room, “and David, you stay over _here_. Kevin, try and keep an open mind, okay? Only say something about the recruits if it’s constructive, and just so we’re clear? Nothing you’ve said so far has been constructive.”

Kevin looked appropriately chastised and took himself off to where Abby had pointed him, grumbling under his breath the whole way. He looked through the pile of files he had in absolute silence, and by the time he had finished, he came back over and deposited a very thin pile in David’s lap.

“These ones will have to do,” he said tersely, before storming out.

David thumbed through the files with a slight smile on his face and made a mental note that the next time he wanted Kevin to do something, to get Abby to ask him.

* * *

 

Andrew always had his meetings with Betsy on Wednesdays, so David knew not to expect him for the first hour or so of practice. This Wednesday, however, Andrew wasn’t the only one missing. David watched the Foxes file on to the court then gave them an appraising look.

“Where’s Aaron?”

Nicky shoved Neil lightly in the back to usher him forwards. “He’s with Andrew,” Neil said.

“He’s with Andrew where?” David asked, not understanding, and then he cocked his head to the side. “With Betsy, you mean?”

Neil nodded. “He’s gone to sit in on Andrew’s session.”

David considered this for a moment then nodded once. “Interesting,” he said, then clapped his hands together authoritatively. “Laps. Now. And make sure you do extra ones for your missing teammates.”

The Foxes hopped to it without complaint.

When Andrew and Aaron finally returned, they had to notice that all the attention in the room suddenly turned to them, and David just hoped that none of the Foxes would be stupid enough to ask how it went. Luckily, they all kept quiet, although that could just have been thanks to the look of outright murder in Aaron’s expression.

David, for his part, asked just one question. “Is this going to be an ongoing thing? I need to know how to plan around you.”

“No,” Andrew said.

“Yes,” Aaron corrected, shooting his brother a vicious scowl.

“Okay,” David said.

The irritation at now having not one but two players to work around on a Wednesday was vastly outweighed by the relief David felt that the twins were now taking tentative steps to repair their shattered relationship. Neither looked too happy about it at the moment, but David trusted that Betsy could help, even if it was just a little. He never thought they would reach this point, yet here they were, as a direct result of Neil meddling. David was immeasurably grateful.

It was strange not to have a game come Friday, but the following week’s line-up was finally posted, so at least there was some kind of occasion. The Foxes would be facing the University of Vermont Catamounts in a home game in the evens bracket. In the odds, the Big Three had somehow managed to avoid drawing each other’s names, and so would all undoubtedly proceed to the third round.

David was hoping that following the weekend the Foxes would return to practice with the same togetherness they’d had the last couple of weeks, but the stress of the upcoming death match was taking its toll on everybody. Kevin was absolutely vile to all of his teammates, and Allison wasn’t much better towards the defense line. The pressure was building and everyone could feel it. Unfortunately, there was no way around it. Whether they were ready or not, they had to play the Catamounts on Friday, and if they lost, the season was over. Just like that.

David spent the day stocking Abby's house with booze while she cooked, in preparation for either outcome.

But when the Foxes hit the court floor that night in front of the roars from a home crowd, they were on a mission. By half time, they were already three points ahead of the Catamounts, and David left the TV on so the Foxes could hear the flabbergasted sportscasters singing their praises for the first time ever.

It wasn't something they were used to, and David watched their reactions silently as they took in what was said, before Dan switched off the TV and the rest of the team turned to their captain. They exchanged a few words, and when they were done David went about his usual half time run-down of what to expect in the second half. He was glad they were taking it seriously and not acting like they’d already won; a lot could change in a half, and the Catamounts had fresh legs coming on.

For the longest time, the score remained unchanged, both teams struggling to get the other side to budge an inch. Frustrations were building and it was only a matter of time before a fight broke out; David just wasn’t sure which side it was going to come from.

Andrew cleared the ball up court then banged his enormous racquet against the wall and shouted something. David couldn’t hear, but he saw Nicky quickly turn around and hurry over to his cousin in the goal. After a scuffle for the ball on the other end of the court, Neil and Kevin failed to beat the Catamounts’ goalie to the ball and he rebounded it off the ceiling, bouncing back down mid-court, nearer to the Foxes’ defense line.

All at once, David realised what Andrew had wanted from Nicky, as when Nicky’s mark made for the ball, Nicky used his racquet to sweep the legs out from under his opponent. It was an unquestionable foul, nothing murky about it, and play was halted temporarily. David pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, then clicked his fingers at Aaron.

“Get ready. Nicky’s about to be sent off.”

Once Nicky’s mark was back on his feet he came at Nicky immediately, ready to take a swing, but Andrew swiftly used his own racquet to push the Catamounts’ striker away, and Matt and his mark stepped in to intervene just as the referees filed on court. Nicky looked delighted with his red card, blowing the refs a kiss before striding towards the court door with both fists in the air, looking for all intents and purposes like he’d just won an Olympic medal.

After Aaron had taken his place, Nicky sat down on the Home bench and David shot him a glare.

“You gonna tell me what the fuck that was all about?”

Nicky shrugged. “Let’s just say I was helping Andrew create an opportunity.”

“You realise he has to save a foul shot now, right?”

“Yeah, but come on, Coach, this is Andrew we’re talking about.”

David was annoyed about Nicky’s red card but he had a point, and sure enough, Andrew saved the shot and fired the rebound down the court where Neil would no doubt pick it up. David was reminded again of Neil’s sheer speed as he shot down the court and seized the ball in his racquet. He couldn’t pass to Kevin so passed to himself off the wall and got to the ball in time to make a swing just before the goalie did, before promptly crashing shoulder first into the wall.

It didn’t matter though because he made the shot and the goal lit up red. David grinned fiercely.

“See,” Nicky said, sounding a little smug.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re still in trouble.”

The game finally ended on an eight-three win for the Foxes, putting them through to the third round for the first time ever. David positively brimmed with pride, and his teams’ excitement (minus Andrew, who looked the same as he always looked) was infectious. He allowed Dan to pull him into a hug as the Foxes started to file off the court, but didn’t linger as the girls spoke to the press.

He waited for his team in the lounge. There was a lot to talk about, both about the game they had just won and the games they would be playing in the next few weeks — the first of which they’d now have to play without Nicky thanks to his red card — but quite honestly, it could wait until after the weekend. Tonight, David had a party waiting for his Foxes at Abby’s, a preemptive thing he had organised that would serve either as a celebration or an excuse to drown their sorrows if they lost.

A victory party tasted so much sweeter, though, and David smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will probably be a while because things are a little up in the air next week and then the week after that I'm going away with my boyfriend for a couple days and won't be able to write. if I can, I'll get it up next week, but if not it'll probably be after the 20th sometime. bear with me :))
> 
> in the mean time, I have a few tfc (mostly andreil although one is more general fox shenanigans) oneshots if those are your jam? I dunno how to link here (and I can't be bothered to figure it out) but they're easy enough to find if you click on my name haha.
> 
> but anyway thanks for reading and commenting and kudosing, it really means a lot :))


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaack

The advance into round three came with a rule change, switching to a points based system rather than it simply being about winning as many games as possible. Of course, David and his Foxes still wanted to win all of their games, and that was definitely the plan, but there was now added pressure on Neil and Kevin to score as many goals as they could to keep the points gap in their favour. The Foxes had to face off against Nevada at home on February 23rd, then they had a week off before heading off to play Binghamton in an away match on March 9th.

It was all starting to feel very real, and very urgent, and David was determined not to let his team lose momentum. He ran them ragged all week.

On Thursday, a TV crew came by to film a segment on the Foxes, something David had been dreading because he knew that all of his players would be interviewed, which meant that Neil would have a microphone in his face and thus lower David’s life expectancy by about five years.

David managed to pull Neil aside beforehand to give him a gentle warning.

“Just don’t say anything antagonistic,” he said. “Think you can manage that?”

“Yes, Coach,” Neil said flatly.

David sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Oh, this is gonna go great,” he muttered, then fixed Neil with a glare. “Look, at the very least, try not to incite any riots. You mouthing off in front of the press is bad for my blood pressure and will probably give Kevin a heart attack.”

“I got it, Coach.”

“Of course you do. I have every faith,” David said sarcastically.

When the moment finally arrived, Neil had both David and Kevin watching over the reporter’s head — David couldn’t tell who Neil was more annoyed at. Most of the interview went fine; standard questions about the Foxes’ progress that were easy to answer and asked nicely enough for Neil to remain civil, and David almost thought that they were going to make it out of the interview unscathed.

Until, of course, the reporter asked Neil his final questions.

“Do you think the Foxes will make it to a Ravens rematch in the spring?”

Neil paused, then leaned forward to the microphone. “Yes,” he said, eyes flashing dangerously. The interviewer didn’t seem to notice.

“And you really think you can beat Riko and his team?” the reporter pushed.

“Yes,” Neil said again, but didn’t elaborate.

The reporter let out a little laugh. “I’m surprised that’s all you have to say. You’ve been quite outspoken about Riko and the Ravens in the past; why the discretion? Having doubts?”

David closed his eyes. They were doomed.

“The last time I said something no one wanted to hear, my school got vandalized. I was trying to prevent collateral damage this time. But you know what? You’re right. I can’t afford to be quiet. Silence means I condone their behaviour, and that’s a dangerous illusion,” Neil began, fixing the reporter with a steely glare. David felt Kevin tense up beside him, but he actually found himself quite intrigued by what Neil might say.

“I’m not going to forgive or tolerate them just because they’re talented and popular. Let me answer that question again, okay?” Neil said, and the reporter nodded, smiling in anticipation. This was the Neil they wanted to hear.

“Yes, I am a thousand percent sure we are going to face the Ravens in finals this spring, and I know for a fact we are going to win this time. And when the nation’s best loses to a nine-man ‘know-nothing’ team— when they lose to a team their own coach likened to feral dogs— Edgar Allan is going to have to change things up. Personally I think they should start by demanding Coach Moriyama’s resignation.”

The strangled cry Kevin made sounded like it had come from a dying animal, not a human, and both the reporter and cameraman looked at him over their shoulders in alarm. Kevin took off down the hall, but David offered them a savage smile. Neil’s comments were inadvisable, as ever, but he wasn’t _wrong_. It was a bold statement to make, but David agreed with him and so would stand by every comment he made, especially when it was made so succinctly.

Unsurprisingly, the interview ended there. Neil looked at David, no doubt expecting a lecture, but David just smiled again and restarted practice. Kevin ignored Neil for the rest of the day, but David let him stew for now. Honestly, he was a little disappointed that Kevin was still letting himself be ruled by Riko. He knew that Kevin had been watching Neil ever since Christmas; how he carried himself, how he responded to Riko and his threats even when pushed to his absolute limits. David had hoped that some of Neil’s bravery — bull-headed as it was — might have rubbed off on Kevin.

Not quite yet, apparently. But David had hope.

* * *

 

The news of Kengo Moriyama’s re-hospitalization preceded another week of intensive practices leading up to the Nevada game. Nicky’s red card meant he had to sit the game out so Renee had graciously agreed to step in as a backliner sub again, leaving Andrew to guard the goal alone. At least David felt better about that now that Andrew was off his meds and wasn’t making himself sick in order to help the Foxes.

Nevada was a tough match and a big step up from what the Foxes had come to expect in round 2, and after the game ended on a tie, they had to head for a shootout — no overtime. It wasn’t ideal for the Foxes because it meant Neil and Kevin had to keep alternating whilst the Tornadoes had plenty of strikers to cycle through. But David already knew his team would win — Kevin and Neil were hungry for victory and Andrew was protecting the goal. The shootout was two-for-two until Andrew saved the next shot, and David grinned at the look on Kevin’s face as he stepped up to the line. A premature victory smile, but with good reason, because he knew he would score. The Foxes won by one point; their winning streak continued.

The following week, amongst rigorous practices, the Foxes were also preparing for their mid-terms and sorting out spring break plans, and David was busy getting in touch with the schools of his potential new signings. On Thursday night, Kevin commandeered the stadium lounge to watch the teams in the evens categories play, as one of the Big Three would be getting eliminated. He’d managed to turn it into a team event, and David had all of the Foxes making a lot of noise, easily heard from his office where he was trying to sort out travel arrangements to go and sign players for next year.

Much to Kevin’s delight, the Trojans beat the Lions and would be joining the Ravens in the semifinals, but it meant that it would be another incredibly difficult team to face. But David was getting ahead of himself; first, the Foxes had to play Binghamton, then they could worry about the Trojans.

Binghamton University wasn’t far enough to warrant flying to, so their match-up meant an early start for the Foxes. Early starts were David’s bread and butter, however, and driving his team was always his preference, so he was more than happy with the arrangement. The Foxes, on the other hand, were not quite as keen on early mornings. Kevin in particular looked positively murderous and after stomping onto the bus, he fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until they stopped for early lunch.

The upperclassmen had been chattering on incessantly about getting a TV for the bus next season, a conversation David largely ignored because he recognised a lot of it was down to nervous energy. However, he did eventually concede to looking into it if the Foxes won finals. He was already mentally doing sums to swing it and he didn’t miss Dan’s surreptitious high five to Allison — his team knew _exactly_ how he worked.

After lunch when everyone piled back onto the bus, there was a narrowly avoided scuffle between Kevin and Neil. David wasn’t too sure what it was about, he hadn’t been close enough to hear and most of the conversation was carried out in French anyway, but as Dan had been talking to Kevin about tonight’s game against the Bearcats, David assumed the issue was that Neil didn’t seem interested in joining the powwow.

Instead, he made his way to the back of the bus, taking Kevin’s abandoned seat one row in front of Andrew. Matt stopped Kevin from dragging Neil back up and Dan eventually coaxed Kevin’s attention back, so David didn’t feel the need to intervene and Abby got the bus back on the road. David caught the smirk Allison exchanged with Matt, and just hoped everyone left Neil and Andrew alone for the remainder of the journey. They had an important match tonight, and David didn’t need anything else distracting the Foxes from the matter at hand, and upsetting the careful balance Neil and Andrew currently seemed to be walking _definitely_ counted as distracting.

David put it out of his mind and hunkered down to try and get some sleep — he’d need it for the drive back.

He woke up to Abby calling his name, and he sat up blearily, rubbing at his eyes.

“We’re about two and a half hours away, but there’s a service station here,” Abby said. “Should we stop?”

David stretched uncomfortably; he’d always hated sleeping on buses. “Yeah,” he said, and Abby nodded and took the exit ramp. David wanted to walk around for a couple of minutes. He wanted a cigarette.

Abby parked up and David stood up and called out, “Last stop before campus.” Most of the Foxes didn’t need telling twice, any excuse to break up the monotony of a long journey. Neil and Andrew, however, didn’t budge.

David half opened his mouth, on the verge of saying something, before he thought the better of it. He did wonder if the two of them would ever admit that there was anything going on, or if they were happy to let the upperclassmen gossip and bet on it. He wanted to tell them to be careful with each other; they were both so vulnerable in such different ways and David was protective, and not just because of the impact it could have on the team. But in the end, there was nothing he could say that Neil and Andrew didn’t already know, so he just waved his hand dismissively and stepped off the bus.

It was still several minutes before Neil and Andrew ventured off the bus and inside to get drinks, and once they did, David only gave the Foxes another couple of minutes to wander around before he rounded them all up and sent them back to the bus.

Back on-board, he slept for another two hours and then went over the pre-game stats in his head for the remaining half an hour. The Foxes needed at least seven points tonight if they wanted to to proceed to the next death match. The Bearcats were a better all-round team than Nevada had been, but David had a good feeling, and judging by the excited chatter from behind him, so did the Foxes. They were well-rested, and back to their full roster now that Nicky’s one-match ban was over.

As soon as Abby got them onto the Binghamton campus, game faces were switched on all around. David sent them marching off the bus, counting heads as they went to make sure he still had everybody — it was a fear that never really went away whenever they had away games, that somehow someone would get left. David felt like he spent half his time checking and double checking everyone was still with him. Maybe that made him paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

In the time before the Foxes were allowed to go and warm up in the inner ring, David let them prepare however they wanted. Kevin, David was pleased to see, put his earlier irritation with Neil aside and went over the Bearcats line-up with him.

After they had warmed up, David gave his team a variation on his usual pre-game speech, and then it was already time for first serve. The two sides clashed aggressively almost immediately, but Neil in particular was walking a knife’s edge.

“He’s gonna get carded,” David said in irritation. Andrew, sitting on the bench while Renee was in goal, said nothing, taking it all in with an impassive stare.

By half-time, the Foxes only needed three more points to advance. But they were also two points down, and David, much like his team, really didn’t want to lose any matches. He pointed a finger in Neil’s face. “I’m all for aggression, but keep it clean, Josten,” he warned, “because if you pick up a red-card, I will skin you alive.”

Neil didn’t really respond, and David had moved on to the rest of his half-time rundown anyway, but just before the Foxes had to file back onto the court, David did see Neil talking to Andrew in low, urgent tones.

Whatever Neil had said worked wonders, because in the second half, Andrew completely locked the goal down. He was more mobile than David had ever seen him, and he was already agile to begin with. He even started communicating with the defense line. Well, David _said_ communicating but it looked more like he was shouting at them every time they let anyone past them. But still, for Andrew, it was unheard of behaviour. David exchanged a look with Renee who smiled mildly.

“He’s doing very well, isn’t he?” she said.

David snorted. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Andrew’s impact had a noticeable buoying effect on the entire team, but it still took the entire second half for the Foxes to catch up, and a goal from Kevin secured the lead as they headed into the final minute. Abby watched through her fingers as the last seconds grew increasingly violent, but the buzzer finally sounded on a Fox win. As soon as it did, Nicky's and Matt’s marks went for them, a brawl that extended to Allison and her own mark when they attempted to intervene.

David headed on to the court immediately to corral his players, but had lost sight of some of them. He just hoped that Kevin — and by association, Andrew — was keeping out of it. Andrew ideally needed a violence free record. David and the referees finally untangled the players, and they wisely decided against the usual post match handshake, instead ushering both teams off the court as quickly as possible. David didn’t have cause to shout at his team: firstly, they had won, and secondly, they hadn’t even started the fight. A favourable outcome all around, violence aside.

David sent his team off to the changing rooms with a fierce smile on his face, then headed to the lounge to wait for them. Already in there was a couple of security officers, standing just inside the doorway.

“Oh,” David said, surprised to see them. “Is there a problem?”

“We’re just here to accompany you back to your bus as soon as your team’s ready to go,” one of the men said. “The crowd’s a little rowdy tonight, and campus police sent us as extra security.”

“Okay, great,” David said. The more security the better; the spectators sounded like they were going to tear the place down out there. “Thanks.”

The other man smiled easily. “Not to worry. And hey, good game by the way. That little striker of yours is _really_ something.”

* * *

 

Neil, predictably, was the last out of the changing rooms. The rest of the Foxes were in high spirits, except for Andrew who stood silently, apart. David waited in the corner, a cigarette between his lips waiting to be lit as soon as they got outside. One of the security guards was standing just outside the door, and was soon joined by the other. A moment later, the first turned to face the Foxes.

“If we’re all accounted for, we should head out,” he said.

“We’re still waiting for Neil,” Nicky piped up, but the man gestured down the hall, and a few seconds later, Neil stepped into view. Nicky leapt up excitedly. “Hey, Neil! We were starting to think you’d drowned in there.”

“I’m sorry,” Neil said, which Nicky waved off, and the Foxes all started to gather their things ready to hit the road. David scanned the room, making sure everyone had everything, and when he looked back to Neil, Andrew was now standing right in front of him. Neil spoke lowly, but David still overheard, and he wasn’t the only one judging by the look Allison sent Matt. “Thank you,” Neil told Andrew. “You were amazing.”

It seemed incredibly personal, but David only gave them a couple of seconds to stare at each other before waving them out, and the Foxes all filed out of the lounge with Neil up front, right behind one of the security guards. David was at the back, just in front of the other security guard.

As they went down the walkway, the Foxes fans stood on one side cheering for their team, but they were in hostile territory and were quickly drowned out by the overbearing boos and hisses from the opposite side. David’s team all kept their heads down, but there was tension in the air; David could sense it. It was going to break any second.

David didn’t see who had thrown the first bottle, but he did see it bounce off Aaron’s arm, a few people ahead of where David was standing. Aaron let out a string of colourful swear words and Andrew jerked his head towards the crowd, attuned as ever to the woes of his merry men.

The bottle was just the first grenade; a shoe followed, then another bottle, and all of a sudden more campus police were descending upon the team, trying to restore a bit of order, until someone threw a drinks cooler. It would have hit Dan if not for her quick reflexes, and it hit some drunk fan on the Foxes’ other side.

All hell broke loose. David seized Abby’s hand so as not to lose track of her, and was pushed forward as the security guard who had been standing behind him shoved his way past, presumably towards another threat. Bodies were everywhere; David couldn’t tell who was who, or where everyone was. He only knew that Abby was still with him because her hand was still in his.

“Foxes,” he boomed out. “Stay together!” He hoped they could hear him, but honestly it seemed futile; there was so much noise, so much shouting and crashing as bottles smashed and anything that wasn’t nailed down got thrown.

David pulled Abby to him and tried to find a path out of the crowd. He quickly realised they would have to push their way through. He cast a desperate look around, but it was hard to single anyone out. He thought he caught sight of Renee but then he lost her again just as quickly.

He leaned close to Abby’s ear. “Can you see them?” he asked, voice raised so she could hear him above the crowd.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. She looked frightened. “I lost everyone, all the fans got in the way, we all got pushed apart.”

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll find them. We’re gonna get out of the crowd first, find a vantage point.”

Abby nodded shakily, and David motioned for her to keep her head down and then pushed and shoved people out of the way with one hand, keeping a tight hold of Abby with the other. He didn’t like the idea that he was leaving his kids in the middle of a brawl, but he was no good to them if he couldn’t see them.

Eventually, David got Abby out to a quieter area where the fighting had thinned, and when he turned around, he could see that the worst of the brawl was taking place at one point in the centre, everything else circled out around it. The police were making little headway at the moment, and David wouldn’t be able to get back in the middle of it to try and fish out the Foxes. He let out one, long ragged sigh.

“Abby, stay here until I come back. If you see any of the kids, shout for them to come and join you but don’t go anywhere, okay? Don’t move from this spot.”

“Okay. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going round the other side, see if they’ve ended up over there. I’ll circle the outside of the fight and see if I can’t spot any of them from there. I’ll bring them over when I do.”

“Alright, David, but be careful,” Abby said anxiously. He just nodded and hurried back over.

By some absolute fluke, he spotted Andrew and Kevin right away. Andrew had a handful of Kevin’s jersey bunched in his fist and when David called his name, he all but dragged Kevin over to him. He pushed Kevin at David then disappeared back into the crowd without a word.

“Andrew, wait—” David started, but Kevin stopped him.

“Coach, don’t bother. Aaron, Nicky and Neil are still in there somewhere; Andrew will come out when he’s found them.”

David knew that Kevin was right so he reluctantly let it go, and pointed Kevin towards Abby. He went off without any complaints — he, at least, looked injury free.

It took a while, but eventually, helped when the police finally started to gain some semblance of control, the Foxes began to find their way out. David found Dan first, a couple of cuts and marks that would definitely bruise, but otherwise okay. She was anxious, having lost Matt and the others but David assured her he’d find them and sent her off to Abby and Kevin.

Andrew showed up again next, sporting a brand new shiner and a bloodshot eye, evidence of a stray elbow no doubt. He had Aaron by the arm in one hand and Nicky by the arm in the other, and he shoved them at David. This time, he deigned to speak.

“Have you found Neil yet?” he asked.

“Not yet,” David shook his head. “Have you seen Renee, Allison or Matt?”

“I saw Matt about five minutes ago,” Nicky said. “He looked pretty beat up but I couldn’t get to him, I got pushed back. Then Andrew found me.”

Dread filled David. “Alright, you two go find Abby and the others. They’re over there.” He pointed, and Aaron seized the back of Nicky’s jersey and headed off immediately. When David turned back around, Andrew was already gone.

Eventually, the crowd thinned out completely, and David found Matt, Allison and Renee right on the other side of the stadium. Both girls looked like they’d taken hits to the face, and Allison was sporting several finger shaped marks on her arm. Renee followed David’s furious glare. “Don’t worry, Coach. She got the other guy worse.”

David nodded, then turned his attention to Matt, who was definitely going to need some proper medical attention. His knuckles were bleeding, his face was definitely going to bruise, and he held one hand to his side. He was leaning heavily on Allison, who was shaking with barely concealed rage.

“Oh, Matt,” David said, wincing with sympathy pain.

“S’all good, Coach. I’m just fine.”

“Do not do a Neil Josten on me,” David warned. “Speaking of, you guys seen him?”

All three suddenly stood to attention. “No. Isn’t he with you guys?” said Allison.

“Hey, don’t worry. Andrew’s bound to have found him by now, everyone was separated. Look, it took me this long to find you three, didn’t it?” David said reassuringly.

David took over helping carry Matt’s weight from Allison and then led them back over to Abby, where everyone else was still all together, except for Neil and Andrew.

“Andrew’s still looking,” Abby said, and David could hear the anxiety in her tone even though she was clearly trying to school it for the benefit of the other Foxes. “He’s been back a couple of times. He’s doing a second sweep of the stadium in case he missed Neil the first time.”

As for the rest of them, there was nothing they could do but wait. Abby saw to Matt while they waited for Andrew to get back with Neil. David didn’t want to separate the team further; they’d go and get checked at the hospital when they were all together.

Twenty minutes later, David spotted the familiar figure of Andrew making his way back to his teammates. In one hand, he carried a racquet, and in the other, a duffel. When he got closer, David realised that they weren’t Andrew’s. He was also, notably, alone.

He came to a slow stop in front of David and Kevin. Everything about Andrew’s posture was coiled, ready for a fight, ready for. . . _something_. David followed the line of his arm to where his fist was clenched so tightly around Neil’s racquet. Because it _was_ Neil’s racquet, David could now tell, and his duffel.

“Where did you find those?” Kevin asked hoarsely.

“On the floor,” Andrew said measuredly. “Dropped. He left them behind.” He lifted his gaze and met Kevin’s eyes carefully.

“Neil wouldn’t just leave them.”

“No,” Andrew agreed. “He wouldn’t.”

Andrew's voice was low and dangerous, punctuated with quiet violence as he asked the question no one had the answer to.

“Where. The fuck. Is Neil?”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to cut this chapter -- I really thought I was going to be able to get to the hotel room in baltimore and then the next chapter would be back in south carolina but I got MAJORLY carried away and this chapter is already over 4,000 words long. I could have finished all of the baltimore scenes and then just posted a ridiculously long chapter but I really wanted to post something tonight (because I cannot stress enough how little self control I have). I think it's cut in a good place though? I'm sorry don't be mad at me :/
> 
> also writing this was unbelievably exhausting, holy shit.

“Maybe. . .” Dan started before trailing off. She tried again. “Maybe he got hurt and taken to the hospital.”

It was a definite possibility; David had seen and heard several ambulances and there was every chance that Neil could have been taken off to be treated without anyone else seeing him. But he would never have willingly left his gear behind, which meant that if he _had_ been taken to hospital, then he was more than likely unconscious, which potentially suggested serious injury.

The thing was, David would have expected a phonecall had one of his players shown up in a hospital unaccompanied. Neil had a team jersey on, it surely wouldn’t have been that difficult to identify him.

Anxiety gnawed at David. “Maybe,” he said to Dan, more to mollify her than anything else.

After Andrew had returned with Neil’s gear, David had alerted campus police that he had a missing player, and they were in the process of doing their own extensive sweep of the stadium in search of Neil. The two security guards who had been with them on their way out were nowhere to be seen. David thought it likely that they had got hurt in the riot, too.

Despite desperately wanting to keep the team together, David had reluctantly sent Abby to accompany Matt, Renee and Allison to the hospital. They were the three who most needed to be looked at, Matt in particular, and David didn’t want to put off their medical treatment any longer. He had remained at the stadium with the rest of his team, not wanting to leave without Neil even though in his heart of hearts he realised that Neil clearly wasn’t there anymore.

He had tried to get Andrew to go with the others and get his eye checked out, but the look Andrew had shot him in response had been so deadly that David hadn’t pushed any further. David cast a look over to Andrew now; he was sitting cross legged on the floor, Neil’s duffel in front of him. He was staring straight ahead, dead-eyed, but David wasn’t fooled; Andrew’s posture gave him away. He had Neil’s racquet clutched in a white-knuckled grip across his lap. David had never seen Andrew so tense before.

Nicky sat a little further away on a bench, head in his hands. Aaron sat beside him in silence, quiet comfort maybe, but his eyes were on his brother. Kevin, too, was watching Andrew, and wringing his hands together anxiously. He was pale, and he lifted his gaze to meet David’s.

“Where could he be?” he asked in a voice that made him seem much younger than he was.

Dan, who was standing on David’s left, exhaled loudly. “He’s at the hospital,” she said. “He’s gotta be.”

“Wherever he is, we’ll find him,” David said gruffly. It was his responsibility to be a pillar of strength, to hold his team together when it was falling apart. But it wasn’t easy when one of David’s worst nightmares was coming true.

David’s phone started to ring, and as he hurried to pull it out of his pocket, he fumbled and almost dropped it. He didn’t even bother checking the caller ID in his haste to answer.

“Hello?”

“David,” said Abby.

“Hey,” David said. “How’s Matt and the girls?”

“Pretty banged up. Matt’s just getting some stitches on his hip right now, and he’s got a lot of bruising. He’s okay though, he’ll just be sore for a while. The girls are pretty much fine, it’s all mostly superficial bruising. Looks worse than it is.”

David sighed in relief. “Well that’s something.”

“I talked to the nurses to see if anyone of Neil’s description had been admitted.”

“And?”

“Nothing,” Abby said. She sounded exhausted, her voice cracked with worry. “They said he’s definitely not here.”

David’s heart sank; he’d been hoping Abby would have had better news. Dan nudged David’s side and he looked up to see a couple of campus police officers approaching. “Hold on a minute, Abby,” he said into the receiver, then lowered the phone.

He already knew they had bad news because Neil wasn’t with them, but the officer at the front still shook his head. “I’m sorry, Coach Wymack, but we didn’t find him.”

David squeezed his hand into a fist and tried to curb his anger. “Then where _is_ he?”

“Odds are he got hurt in the fighting and taken to the hospital. You saw the riot, it was a nightmare. Only too easy to lose track of people.”

“My team nurse is currently at the hospital, and she’s just informed me that Neil isn’t there.”

The officer shrugged; he didn’t look nearly concerned enough. “There’s more than one hospital in the general area, Coach Wymack.” He rattled the names of three hospitals where all the injured from tonight’s riot had been taken. “I suggest you give them a call. One of them has your missing striker.”

“And if they don’t?” David asked, words clipped in irritation.

“They will. But I assure you, Neil Josten is no longer on this campus. Now if you’ll excuse us, Coach, we have a lot to do.” Without another word, the campus police sauntered off.

“Fucking useless,” David muttered, then brought the phone back to his ear. “Did you get any of that?”

“I heard enough,” Abby said. “What do we do now?”

“We’ll come and meet you, we’ll call round the other hospitals, and we’ll go from there.”

“Alright,” Abby said. “I’ll see you soon.”

David hung up, and gathered his remaining team members; Andrew stayed on the floor.

“You heard Officer Friendly,” he said. “Neil isn’t here. So the best thing that we can do now is go and meet Abby and the others at the hospital, then try and track Neil down from there.”

No one said anything immediately, until finally Dan put her Captain hat on. “Got it, Coach.” She turned to her teammates. “Come on guys, get your stuff, it’s time to roll.”

The rest of them finally started to move, and once they were ready, David handed Dan the keys to the bus. “Go and get loaded up,” he told her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Coach?” she asked, confused, and he flicked a glance to Andrew, who seemed utterly oblivious to the movement around him. Dan nodded in understanding and led the rest of the team out. Kevin had shouldered Andrew’s bag as well as his own.

David crouched in front of Andrew, and only then did Andrew acknowledge him.

“Coach,” he said. “You’re in my way.”

“Didn’t you hear me, Andrew? We’re heading to the hospital to meet the others.”

“Is Neil there?”

“Not at that one. But there’s another couple of hospitals he could have been taken to. We’ll call them when we’re all together again.”

Andrew hummed, as if he was thinking over this plan.

“Come on, Andrew. Neil isn’t here anymore; if he was, we would have found him by now.”

“Obviously,” Andrew said, almost a sneer. Then he reached for Neil’s duffel and dug through the side pocket. He pulled out Neil’s cellphone. “Look what I found.” He flipped it open and pressed a couple of buttons, then showed the screen to David. On it was a message sent from a number David didn’t recognise, the contents of which simply read “0”. It was strangely ominous.

David frowned. “Who’s that from?”

Andrew shrugged. “I called it, but whoever’s number that is, it’s disconnected.”

“Okay. What does the message mean?”

“No idea, Coach,” Andrew said, finally pulling himself to his feet. He put Neil’s phone back into the duffel and started to walk after his teammates. David fell into step beside him, and as soon as they were outside he lit a cigarette and handed it to Andrew, then lit his own.

When they crossed the car park and the bus came in to view, Andrew spoke up again. “I don’t think we’re going to find Neil in one of those hospitals,” he said. “I think someone has taken him.”

David stopped short. “Why the fuck would you think that?”

Andrew had walked a little further but turned around now to face David and started rattling off reasons. “We’d know by now if he was at the hospital. There’s a weird text message on his phone. He was. . .” Andrew trailed off and visibly gritted his teeth before resuming his blank mask and continuing. “There was something off about him after the game; he was strained. And then he left his precious duffel and his racquet and his fucking phone. He wouldn’t willingly leave them behind, Coach. You _know_ he wouldn’t.”

David _did_ know, but what Andrew was saying still seemed like a stretch. Not to mention it was downright terrifying. He pulled what he knew was a dubious expression. “But. . . who would have taken him? _Riko_?”

“See, that’s the obvious guess, but I think I disagree. It doesn’t make sense — Riko already knows he has to beat us on the court if he wants any credibility, especially after everything Neil has said about him this year. Taking Neil away from us means we can’t play, and Riko can’t have that. He’s already committed to playing us now.” David was starting to realise why Andrew had been so quiet for the last hour or so; he’d been thinking. “No. I don’t think it’s Riko.”

“Then who?” David asked fretfully.

“We already know that Neil’s been running from someone, Coach. Isn’t it obvious?” Andrew tilted his head to the side. “I think our little runner has been found.”

Andrew took one last drag of his cigarette and then flicked it away and got on the bus, still clutching Neil’s belongings. David watched him go as he finished his own cigarette, and a chill ran down his spine that had considerably more to do with Andrew’s words than the cold night air.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he said, and got on the bus.

* * *

 

David let the drive to the hospital distract him from Andrew’s worrying theory, and once they had arrived it took them a little while to track down Abby and the others as it was so busy.

Eventually they found Abby, Allison and Renee in a waiting room for minor injuries as they waited on Matt to finish getting patched up. David immediately pulled Abby aside and had her call one of the remaining hospitals, while David called the other to see if Neil had been admitted.

The one David called had only had a relatively small intake of patients hurt in the riot and were quick to tell him that Neil wasn’t one of them, but after David hung up and looked to Abby, she mouthed to him that she’d been put on hold while the hospital staff checked the system. David crossed his fingers and slumped into a seat, exhausted.

The Foxes were all muted; Renee and Allison sat close together while Dan paced restlessly in front of them. Kevin sat next to Andrew and kept darting looks at him, which Andrew either didn’t notice or was simply ignoring. He was leaning forward slightly, his elbows on his knees, and open in his hands was Neil’s phone as he stared at the screen, presumably at the message in Neil’s inbox. David had half a mind to take the phone away from him; it didn’t help them and would probably only serve to drive Andrew crazy, but he thought the better of it. There wouldn’t be any making Andrew do anything tonight.

There were no other seats available, and Nicky and Aaron instead perched on the windowsill. After a moment, Nicky ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t take this,” he said meekly. “I can’t just _sit_ here while. . . I’m getting coffee. Anyone want coffee?”

David didn’t really want any; hospital coffee was always disgusting, but he recognised Nicky’s need to _do_ something and he nodded. Nicky took a quick numbers count then disappeared with Aaron to find the cafeteria. A couple of minutes later, Matt returned to the waiting room, walking a little stiffly but otherwise okay. As soon as Dan clocked him, she ran over, threw her arms around his neck and promptly burst into tears.

He winced a little at the impact, but hugged her back. “Hey. Hey, hey, hey. I’m okay,” he soothed. After a moment Dan seemed to compose herself and she pulled away, sniffing.

“Don’t do that again,” she scolded.

“Aye aye, Captain,” Matt said, then looked around the waiting room to see who else was there. His eyes settled on David, stricken. “No Neil?”

David shook his head. “Not yet,” he said, standing up to let Matt take his seat.

“Fucking _Christ_ ,” Matt said, slumping into the offered chair and running a hand down his face. “Where the fuck is he?”

David was starting to lose track of how many times he had heard that question tonight. Dan, eyes still shining, ran a hand through Matt’s hair. “We don’t know,” she said, barely above a whisper.

“Yes, I’m still here,” Abby said suddenly into her phone; David had almost forgotten she was still on hold, and he watched her in anticipation. Her face fell as she listened. “Okay. Thank you for checking. Please give me a call if anyone of Neil’s description comes in.” She hung up the phone and locked eyes with David. “I think we’re officially out of options,” she said.

* * *

 

Everyone piled onto the team bus which had been parked haphazardly in the hospital car park, and after David closed the doors it was a solid minute before anyone said anything.

Strangely enough, it was Aaron who spoke first. “How do we know that Neil hasn’t just taken off?”

Nine heads turned towards him. “No way,” Nicky said, shaking his head vehemently.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Matt agreed. “He wouldn’t, not when we’re so close to the Ravens rematch.”

Aaron made a noise halfway between a sigh and a scoff. “Are you all collectively forgetting the locker-room incident? He didn’t want the police involved because he was afraid they might find out who he really is. I’m not saying that Neil doesn’t care about the season. I just think it’s possible that he got spooked and started running again.”

David didn’t like the idea, but it wasn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility, and he had to admit that out of the theories the twins had offered, Aaron’s was the lesser of two evils.

“No,” Andrew said. “He hasn’t run.”

“How do you _know_ that?” Allison asked shrewdly, the first time she’d spoken since the hospital. Andrew fixed her with a stare but didn’t respond, and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

“Andrew’s right,” Kevin said quietly. “I don’t think Neil ran. He hasn’t so far, even when—” he cut himself off sharply, and David was again reminded that Kevin had insider knowledge on Neil that the rest of them were sorely lacking. And here he was, still keeping Neil’s secrets. “He didn’t run,” he said again, and left it at that.

A heavy silence hung in the air, and David looked at his watch; it was almost 2am. Neil had been missing for hours now.

“Do we need to call the police?” David asked.

“Neil wouldn’t want us to,” Nicky said miserably.

“Well Neil isn’t here,” David snapped, sharper than he meant to judging by the way Nicky cringed.

“Could we even do that yet?” Allison asked. “Don’t people have to be gone for 24 hours before you can report them as missing?”

“You can do it straight away if you have genuine concerns for their safety,” Renee said.

“Then. . . then maybe we should,” Dan said. “We don’t have any other leads, and he’s not at any of the hospitals.”

“But what if we get him in trouble?” Matt asked quietly, his expression a myriad of fear and concern and apprehension.

“I don’t know what else we can do,” Dan replied, taking his hand in her own.

David looked to Abby, who gave him a little nod. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. In his hand, it started to ring. He frowned at the number; it was from out of state and he didn’t recognise it.

He answered. “Hello?”

An unfamiliar voice was on the other side. “Is this Coach David Wymack?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“I’m Special Agent Browning. I understand you’re missing a player?”

* * *

 

Abby got the bus on the road immediately, David choosing to sit further back on the bus where he could keep an eye on his Foxes.

Baltimore. Neil was in Baltimore.

David didn’t know _why_ Neil was in Baltimore; Browning had explained very little. He had just said that Neil was caught up in a federal investigation and he wanted David and his whole team to head down for questioning. When David had asked after Neil’s state, he’d been informed that Neil was currently being treated in hospital, that he’d been hurt, but that his life wasn’t in any danger. He had refrained from giving any further details, and had instead passed along the directions to a hotel where he wanted them to go and then hung up before David could ask anymore questions.

As vague and frustrating as it was, it was all David had to go on, and at least they now knew where Neil was and that he was alive. Everything else, presumably, they’d find out when they got there.

Kevin had gone deathly pale when David let the team know where Neil was and where they were heading, and David knew that he wasn’t the only one who had noticed. Andrew had been watching Kevin with increasing scrutiny, a darkness in his eyes that was near terrifying; he hadn’t been impressed that David had been unable to garner more information on Neil’s condition. He looked near breaking point.

Kevin was looking ardently out of the window, but there was no way he didn’t feel the weight of Andrew’s stare. Andrew got out of his seat in the back row and slid in next to Kevin.

“Kevin,” Andrew said, and Kevin slowly turned to face him. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me who Neil really is. Tell me why he’s in Baltimore. Tell me what the fuck’s going on.”

Kevin shook his head despairingly. “I _can’t_ ,” he said. “I can’t tell you.”

In a movement too fast for David to track, Andrew’s hands were around Kevin’s neck, slamming him against the bus window and digging in his fingers as Kevin started choking for air.

“Damnit, Andrew!” David hurried over and grabbed at Andrew’s arms, trying to pry him off. Matt was there in an instant, trying to help.

“Abby, pull over!” David heard Dan call out.

“You owe me, Kevin,” Andrew was saying, his voice low but full of pure rage. “After everything I’ve done for you, you owe me the truth.”

He was so fucking _strong_.

“Andrew, _stop_ ,” Nicky wailed desperately, but he stayed well back. Renee leaned over the seat in front of Kevin’s and started pulling at Andrew’s fingers.

“It’s Kevin, Andrew. You promised him, remember?” Renee said, with just a hint of an edge to her ordinarily calm voice. Andrew’s fingers loosened a tiny amount as Kevin gasped for air. “You promised to protect him.”

“Tell me the truth,” Andrew all but growled at Kevin, and then David and Matt managed to wrench him free. Kevin collapsed forward, drawing in ragged breaths.

Andrew let David pull him down the aisle but the look on his face remained downright murderous. Aaron was looking on in abject horror, and Nicky had his hands over his face. Abby, who had managed to pull over, ran down the aisle to Kevin, who currently had Renee running a soothing hand through his hair and murmuring reassurances to him. She stepped back when she saw Abby approach to let her get a look at him, and returned to Allison’s side.

“ _Jesus_ , Andrew,” Dan said, but she sounded more frightened than angry. Matt stood in the aisle next to Kevin’s seat, keeping a watchful eye on Andrew in case he made another move for Kevin, but David was also now in Andrew’s way, and he didn’t think he’d do it again.

“I’m still waiting, Kevin,” Andrew said, calmness entering his tone again. David couldn’t believe how quickly he’d reverted.

Kevin’s breathing soon levelled out and he looked past Abby to Andrew. Surprisingly, he didn’t look angry, although he did clutch at his neck.

“Nathaniel,” he said.

David didn’t understand, but Andrew clearly did. “Neil already told me that part. Give me more.”

“Wesninski. Neil’s real name is Nathaniel Wesninski, and he's the son of Nathan Wesninski.” Kevin waited a moment to see if there was any recognition of that name; there wasn’t. “The Butcher of Baltimore?”

Now _that_ rang a bell, but David didn’t know all that much about him.

“Abby,” David said. “Get us back on the road.”

She went wordlessly and got the engine started. Other than the rumble of the engine, the only other sound was Kevin’s voice. The rest of the Foxes were stunned into silence.

“He works for the Moriyamas — the main family. Does dirty work and the like. There’s a reason they call him the Butcher,” Kevin said darkly, and shuddered before continuing. “Neil was supposed to be a Raven. He came to Evermore for a two-day trial with me and Riko when he was like, ten, and if he failed it, his father would have killed him.”

David flinched; Matt breathed out a ragged curse.

“His mother took off with Neil overnight, unwilling to risk his life. She stole a shit-ton of money from Nathan, and she and Neil had been running ever since.”

“Neil told me his parents were dead,” Andrew said.

“He lied,” Kevin said. “Well, he half-lied. After the first banquet, when I found out who Neil really was, he told me that his father caught up to him and his mother and she got hurt, then died in California after they got away. After that, Neil went to Millport, but he’s been on his own since then.”

“Until we found him and shoved him into the spotlight, you mean?” Allison said, but not unkindly. She looked as shell-shocked as everyone else.

Kevin winced. “Yeah.”

“How did you not remember who he was when you recruited him?” Dan asked.

“It had been eight years,” Kevin said defensively. “Plus he’d dyed his hair and was wearing those contacts that made his eyes brown. I would never have put him in Riko’s reach if I had realised who he was from the start. It was too late by the time I found out.”

“So that’s what Riko’s problem is,” Matt said slowly. “He thinks Neil should be a Raven.”

“Neil is a Fox,” Andrew said.

“I _know_ that.”

“But whatever this is? Baltimore?” Kevin cut in. “It’s not Riko’s doing. This is about Nathan. I mean, I don’t get it, because last I heard he was in prison, but there’s no other reason for Neil to be there. Especially if this agent guy is saying they need Neil for their investigation. Feds have been wanting to dismantle Nathan’s circle for years.”

“And Neil can help them do that?” Nicky asked.

Kevin sighed in exasperation. “I mean, yeah, if he wants to get himself killed!”

Andrew shifted infinitesimally behind David, and he shot a look back; Andrew’s fist was clenched at his side.

David had heard enough for now, and tensions were still running high. He needed time to process. He needed to see Neil.

“Alright, for now, everybody just try and get a little sleep for the rest of the journey. I’ll wake you all up when we get there.”

Andrew made for his usual seat at the back but David stopped him. “Not today. You’re up front with me where I can keep an eye on you.” Andrew stared for a few seconds, but then turned around and headed the other way, throwing himself into the seat behind the one David would take.

Aaron moved to Andrew’s usual seat, and Nicky sat in the row in front of Kevin, both of them glancing at Kevin worriedly. They hadn’t been able to help when Andrew had attacked him, but at least they were with him now, David supposed.

The rest of the upperclassmen sat together, Renee and Allison on one row behind Dan and Matt on another. Once everyone was settled, David went back to the front and sat down. He leaned forward towards Abby in the drivers’ seat.

“Did you hear all of that?” he asked.

She nodded grimly. “I got the gist.”

David sighed. “I have no idea what we’re about to walk in on in Baltimore.”

“I just hope Neil’s okay,” Abby whispered.

“Jesus. Me too.” He leaned back and peered over his seat to look in on Andrew. He was curled up on the seat like he was asleep, but his eyes were wide open and staring straight ahead.

“At least we know where he is now, Andrew,” David murmured. He was going for reassuring, but he should have known that Andrew wouldn’t want to hear it; he turned over so his back was to David without saying a word, an effective end to the conversation.

David turned in his seat so his back was against the window and looked over at his Foxes as they all settled down to try and sleep. They were going to Baltimore to get Neil, and then David was never going to let any of them out of his sight ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in other news, my boyfriend started reading TFC yesterday because I literally won't shut up about it, and one of the first things he has said about it is, "I'm really liking this coach wymack guy." I don't think I've ever been so proud.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaand we're still in baltimore. I have no idea why I ever thought I'd be able to fit all of the baltimore stuff in one chapter? the good news is, next time they will definitely return to palmetto, I promise. 
> 
> also, I know that kurt is more of like a guard than an actual fbi agent, but let's not think too much about the details lmao. oh, and I went back and made a tiny edit in the last chapter, I just made it later than I originally said when wymack got the call from browning. it's just a minor thing though.
> 
> thanks for sticking with me, you guys are the best <3333

Abby pulled into a hotel parking lot in downtown Baltimore and parked near the back next to a couple of dark SUVs. David could tell immediately that they belonged to suits; they were not subtle.

It had taken about three and a half hours to get to Baltimore, and David hadn’t managed a wink of sleep. Judging by the tension Andrew held in his body, David had to assume that he also remained awake the entire way.

As soon as the engine had been switched off, a man got out of one of the SUVs and knocked on the door of the bus. David opened it but stood in the way, a one-man barrier between this unknown suit and the rest of his Foxes.

“Coach Wymack?” the man asked.

David nodded. “Browning?”

The man reached out his hand and David shook it automatically. “Yes. We spoke on the phone.”

“Where’s Neil?” Andrew’s voice came from right behind David, peering around at the agent; David hadn’t even heard him move.

“He’s still in the hospital, under sedation. It’ll probably be a little while before he wakes up. But that’s not why you’re here.”

“The fuck it isn’t,” David growled.

“Wymack, we need to ask you and your team a few questions, and that is the _only_ reason we’ve brought you here. Once we have what we need, you’re free to go.” Another man stepped out of the SUV and joined Browning, and Browning bulled on before David had a chance to say anything. “This is Kurt, he’ll be taking your statements. Now excuse me, I have to head back to the hospital.” Without another word, he got back into the SUV and it peeled out of the parking lot.

“We have a room for you,” Kurt said without preamble. “Come with me.”

What else could they do?

* * *

 

It took approximately two minutes with eight of the Foxes plus Abby, David and several FBI agents all cramped in one hotel room for David to realise that Andrew was going to prove incredibly problematic.

Not that he could particularly blame him, of course. It just didn’t really help their situation.

The first thing Kurt had done was sit them all down and inform them that Neil Josten was not who he had said he was, and was in fact Nathaniel Wesninski, son of the infamous Nathan Wesninski, aka the Butcher of Baltimore. Thanks to Kevin’s confession on the way here, none of this information was a surprise, so no one reacted.

Kurt looked a little disappointed.

“When can we see Neil?” David asked.

Kurt reared back in surprise. “You can’t,” he said.

“I beg your pardon?” Abby said, shock colouring her voice. David was glad she’d spoken first; his response wouldn’t have been nearly so polite.

Andrew stood up and went to lean on the wall by where one of the other FBI agents were sitting, and he peered at the notes the agent held in her hands. She shielded them away, but Andrew didn’t move, and he cut dark looks to all the agents, finishing on Kurt.

For someone so tiny, he really was unbelievably intimidating.

Kurt frowned at him then returned his attention to David. “He’s now a crucial witness in a federal investigation, not to mention the many questions we have about his whereabouts for the past eight years. He won’t be rejoining you in South Carolina; he’s coming with us.”

“Like hell he is,” Dan snapped.

Andrew went over to Kurt and stopped right in front of him. “Bring him to me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Bring Neil here. What’s our incentive to talk to you at all if you won’t even let us see him?”

Kurt looked past Andrew to David. “You feel like getting your player under control?”

David shrugged. “He makes a good point.”

Kurt sighed in utter exasperation. “Have you not been paying attention? Do you have any idea how much danger Nathaniel has put you all in this year by playing for you? And so publicly?”

“We don’t care,” Nicky said stubbornly.

“Just let us see him,” Matt added, a desperate edge to his voice.

Kurt shook his head, incredulously. “You’re not comprehending how dangerous Nathan Wesninski and his inner circle are. You can’t see the bigger picture.”

“Don’t patronise us,” Andrew said dangerously. “This is all going to go a lot easier if you just let us see Neil.”

“No,” Kurt said.

Andrew stared for a minute. “We already know he’s at the hospital — that other agent told us.” He shrugged. “Shouldn’t be that difficult to find.” He made for the door and Kurt jumped up, leaping in Andrew’s way to barricade the door.

David was already on his feet, anticipating Andrew’s next move, and he managed to seize the back of Andrew’s collar and haul him back just as Andrew started taking a swing at Kurt.

For a moment, the whole room went deathly silent, David still with an iron grip on Andrew’s shirt, and Kurt looking on in disbelief. Then he schooled his expression and unhooked his handcuffs from his holster.

“Right,” he said. “You want to be difficult? Fine. You can do it handcuffed to your coach.”

Before David could even conjure up any words, the cuffs were round his left wrist and Andrew’s right. David and Andrew both looked down at the metal contraption binding them together, then David fixed Kurt with a glare. It was returned ten-fold. “He’s your problem, Wymack. Keep him under control.”

Andrew tugged at the cuffs experimentally; it jostled David’s wrist painfully.

“ _Don’t_ ,” David hissed out of the corner of his mouth, but it wasn’t really Andrew he was angry at. He took a moment for himself just to try and breathe through his rage, and then he looked at Kurt with what he hoped was his best diplomatic expression.

“Look,” he said. “Andrew’s attached to me now and I’m staying here so you don’t have to worry about him running off to find Neil on his own.”

Andrew made a noise like he disagreed, but David kept going.

“I’m going to stay here with my team, but rest assured, Neil is still very much a part of this team, and not only will we not answer any of your questions until you let us see him, but we’re also not _going_ anywhere until you let us see him.”

He waited a moment so his words could sink in. Kurt had a face of thunder, his jaw working furiously; he had clearly thought this was going to be a much easier task. “Either you can make this happen, or you can talk to someone who can. We’ve had a really shitty night when we should have been celebrating a win; three of us ended up in the hospital, we spent hours thinking one of our own was hurt or missing or dead, and then we drove down here through the night by _your_ request on little to no information. The very _least_ you can do is let us see Neil if you expect any cooperation whatsoever.”

For the longest time, Kurt said nothing at all. Then he crossed his arms.

“No,” he said.

* * *

 

David had envisioned the day going differently; he didn’t know why.

For some reason, he’d expected Neil to be waiting for them as soon as they arrived, and that they could just answer a few questions and then go home. Together.

They’d been in this hotel room for hours now, still not answering any questions, and still no Neil. Kurt kept heading out on to the balcony to take or make phonecalls, and his mood was souring by the minute, especially as Andrew kept goading him.

"Neil won't talk either, will he? That's what you keep getting calls about."

Kurt said nothing.

"We won't talk until we see Neil, and Neil won't talk until he sees us. Hmm," Andrew said mockingly. "Wonder how we could fix  _this_ little problem?"

"Knock off the attitude," Kurt snarled. Andrew had held up his hands in a faux-placating gesture, but even though his words could be viewed as glib, David could see how agitated he was. If they didn't see Neil soon, he'd get violent, and David didn't know how to stop him.

None of the Foxes had said much after that; even Andrew had stilled now, limited in motion as he was being handcuffed to David, but he radiated tension and violence and danger. No one could quite look at him.

Dan was alternating between pacing anxiously and sitting with Matt. Renee and Allison sat huddled together on one of the beds, with Aaron further down the end of it. Even he looked unsettled with the entire situation. He kept swapping glances between his brother and Nicky, who was a wreck, no other word for it. He lingered near the window, utterly distraught. Kevin leaned against the wall, not looking at anybody at all.

Abby was busying herself checking up on everyone’s injuries; a need to be useful, a need to be in motion.

It was the waiting that was killing everybody. It was the not knowing.

After one particular phonecall that had Kurt outside for longer than the others, he came back in looking quietly furious.

“Lucky for you, Nathaniel is proving just as stubborn as the rest of you. He’ll be on his way shortly.”

Little noises of utter relief went up around the room.

“Wymack, I need you to move your bus. It’s too noticeable and the press are going to get wind of what’s happening if they see it.”

David lifted up his wrist, dangling Andrew’s hand in the air as he did so.

“You gonna uncuff us first?”

Kurt pretended to think about it for a moment. “No.”

Another agent stood up and beckoned to David, so he and Andrew followed her out.

“We’ll show you where you can take your bus,” she said. “Then we can give you a lift back.”

It was awkward driving the bus handcuffed to Andrew, but David made it work. He glanced over at his goal-keeper every few seconds, words on his tongue that died before he ever got them out. Andrew stared dead ahead and David decided that silence was definitely the better option for now. Andrew was very clearly on the edge, and David wasn’t sure exactly what would set him off. He was probably trying to save all of his energy for Neil, and whatever state they might find him in.

David had thought that he and Andrew would beat Neil back from the hospital to be there when he arrived, but he could immediately tell that there was more security around now; they were in plain clothes, blending in, but it was easier to spot them when David knew the situation. They reached the balcony where Kurt’s hulking figure stood guard in front of the open door to their room. David heard the unmistakable sound of Neil’s voice, but Andrew had already lurched forward, dragging David with him.

Kurt didn’t even have time to react when Andrew shoved him into the door frame and barged in, but he had just started to reach for Andrew when David made it through the door, shouldering into Kurt and cutting off his grip of Andrew.

Agent Browning was standing further inside and he reached for the gun in his holster, taken aback at the violent entrance. Neil grabbed Browning’s arm and tugged, then immediately let go and hunched over, folding his hands close to his stomach.

“Don’t,” he said. He sounded in absolute agony, but his intervention had been enough for Andrew to get to him, and he put one hand on the back of Neil’s neck and the other on his shoulder and pushed him down so he was kneeling on the floor. Once there, Neil let his hands settle in his lap.

Kurt moved towards Andrew, presumably to move him away from Neil, but David snarled, “Leave it,” at him, and Andrew slowly knelt down in front of Neil.

Neil’s hands were covered in white gauze, and underneath his hood, David could see more bandages covering parts of his face. He wondered what other horrors might be hiding underneath Neil’s clothes.

Andrew seized Neil’s chin and stared for a long time, and while he did, Neil stared right back, obviously taking in the bruises lining Andrew’s own face.

“They could have blinded you. All that time fighting and you never learned how to duck?” he said. He was still in pain; David could hear it in his voice. But it was so like Neil to deflect on to someone else.

Andrew didn’t respond. He yanked Neil’s hood out of the way and David could now see how extensive the bandages on his face were. There was a couple of lines of bandages down his right cheek, but there was considerably more on the opposite side, centred around where Neil’s tattoo was. Andrew caught the edge of the gauze on Neil’s right side and ripped it off in one swift movement; underneath were striped lines left by something incredibly sharp, neatly stitched together. Andrew didn’t pay them much mind and tossed the gauze aside carelessly.

The gauze on the other side was ripped off just as quickly, but David didn’t miss the pained wince on Neil’s face at the process; Andrew’s hand froze for a second before he slowly lowered these bandages to the floor beside him.

Red, angry, painful looking circular burns took up most of the top corner of Neil’s left cheek — the tattoo had been completely obliterated in the most horrifying way. David didn’t know what had caused the burns, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Revulsion ran through him; Neil had only just healed from everything he went through at Evermore over Christmas. “Christ, Neil,” he gritted out savagely, unable to let it go without comment. What the fuck had  _happened_?

His words seemed to break the spell of the Foxes behind him, and he spotted Dan on the move. He held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t,” he warned.

“One at a time,” Browning cut in. Dan sat back down, but it was clearly the last thing she wanted to do.

When David looked back to Andrew and Neil, Andrew was guiding Neil’s chin from side to side in order to get a good long look at all the damage. Neil waited him out in silence, and when he was done he dropped his hand to Neil’s hoodie and clenched his fist in the fabric. David had never seen him so wrecked; it looked like it was taking everything he had not to lash out violently.

“I’m sorry,” Neil said, and it was absolutely the worst thing he could have said, because it lit Andrew's fuse — his cuffed fist went back, but although he held it there for a long time, he didn’t follow through even though David could see the effort it was taking him not to. He finally unclenched his fingers and let his hand hang limply from the cuff.

“Say that again and I will kill you,” he said.

Kurt obviously decided he’d had enough of Andrew. “This is the last time I’m going to say it to you. If you can’t stow that attitude and behave—”

“You’ll what, asshole?” Neil interrupted angrily.

“The same goes for you, Nathaniel. That’s your second strike. A third misstep and this is over. Remember you are only here because we are allowing it,” Browning said.

David felt like punching him himself, but Andrew shifted slightly on the floor as if to get up, an action that no good could come from. But Neil inched forward and held up his bandaged hands and framed Andrew’s face between them. It took a couple of seconds, but Andrew re-settled himself, and Neil cut a harsh glare at Browning.

“Don’t lie to a liar. We both know I’m here because you have nothing without me. A pile of dead bodies can’t close cases or play the money trail with you. I told you what those answers would cost you and you agreed to pay it. So take this handcuff off of Andrew, get your man out of our way, and stop using up my twenty minutes with your useless posturing.”

Twenty minutes? David hadn’t known they’d only been allocated twenty minutes. How much time had gone already? David didn’t know.

What he did know was that Neil knew how to play the game very well; after a heavy silence, Browning finally gestured to a very disgruntled Kurt, and he dug the keys out of his pocket and undid the handcuffs. It was instant relief as soon as it came off, and David rubbed at his wrist. Andrew flexed his fingers and then dropped his hand. Only then did Browning and Kurt finally retreat to the doorway to give them a bit of space.

“So the attitude problem wasn’t an act, at least,” Andrew said.

“I was going to tell you.”

“Stop lying to me.”

“I’m not lying. I would have told you last night, but they were in our locker room.”

“They who?” Browning asked, but Neil immediately switched to German.

David realised almost immediately; Neil must have meant the security guards who had been waiting in the lounge for the team after the game. David hadn’t thought anything of it, grateful for any extra security to get them safely back to the bus. But they weren’t sent by campus police. They had been there for Neil. And he _knew_.

The conversation continued, and Andrew asked a question. David didn’t understand, but the horrified breathless sound Nicky made at Neil’s response was telling. Aaron swore sharply and moved from the bed to get nearer to Nicky, and Neil whirled around at the sound of movement, putting his injuries on display to the rest of the team for the first time.

Kevin made a choked noise and jerked back into the wall, clutching a hand to his own cheek protectively. Matt struggled to get up but Dan held him back, clutching his shirt and pulling until he stopped struggling.

“Jesus, Neil. The fuck did they do to you?” he asked in a strangled voice.

Abby, who had been remarkably restrained up until now, had obviously taken as much as she could. Pale-faced, she stepped around the bed and made for Neil. Andrew realised what she was doing and forcibly turned Neil’s head back forward.

The look he shot Abby was dark and vicious, and David almost felt the need to step in between them, but Abby stopped short.

“Get away from us.”

“Andrew. He’s hurt. Let me see him,” Abby said, quiet and reasonable.

“If you make me repeat myself you will not live to regret it.”

His tone gave David chills; he didn’t know how to diffuse the situation. But Neil, whose hands were still up by Andrew’s face, lightly worked a hand into Andrew’s hair and tugged a couple of times. After a moment, Andrew let his death glare drop away from Abby and looked back to Neil.

Neil didn’t look at Abby when he said, “Abby, I just got out of the hospital. I’m as good as I can be right now.”

“Neil,” Abby tried again.

“Please,” Neil insisted, and Abby finally stepped back. Andrew’s grip on Neil’s head loosened noticeably.

Neil restarted his private conversation with Andrew in quiet German, and after Andrew answered, Neil seemed to be struggling with what he was saying. He sounded small and broken, and hell, he _was_. David wanted to take him out of here. He wanted to take all of the Foxes home.

Andrew hooked his fingers in Neil’s collar, and when he spoke again, it was in English. “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re staying with us. If they try to take you away they will lose.”

David’s mind was working a mile a minute but it didn’t take a genius to realise what Neil must have said. The FBI wanted to take Neil away from them permanently.

Fuck _that_.

“Take you away. To where?” Dan asked.

Matt leaned forward in an angry demand. “Are we talking about ‘away for some questioning’ or ‘away for good’?”

“Both,” said Browning.

“You can’t have him,” Nicky said, like it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “He belongs with us.”

“When people find out he is still alive they will come for him. It is not safe for him here anymore, and it sure as hell isn’t safe for you. It is better for everyone if he disappears.”

But David and his Foxes knew that just wasn’t true; Neil was one of them, and he _belonged_ with them.

“What part of ‘go to hell’ do you need us to explain to you?” Allison said, speaking up for the first time, but in typical Allison fashion. David _almost_ smiled.

“We’re all legal adults here,” Matt said diplomatically. “We’ve made our decision. Unless he wants to stay with you, you’d better bring Neil back to us when you’re done with all your questions.”

Browning looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. “’Neil’ isn’t a real person. It’s just a cover that let Nathaniel evade authorities. It’s past time to let him go.”

“Neil or Nathaniel or whoever. He’s ours, and we’re not letting him go. You want us to vote on it or something? Bet you it’ll be unanimous.”

He was right. Neil was the only thing the Foxes had ever seemed to be united on.

“Coach Wymack, talk some sense into your team,” Browning snapped impatiently.

David only had eyes for Neil. He felt like he was back at Christmas again when Neil had called him from the airport, battered and broken and asking for help. And David so desperately _wanted_ to help. “Neil,” he said, and Neil looked at him for the first time since entering the hotel room. “Talk to me. What do you want?”

When Neil finally answered he was quiet and his words were disjointed and desperate. “I want—I know I shouldn’t stay, but I can’t—I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose any of you. I don’t want to be Nathaniel anymore. I want to be Neil for as long as I can.”

David wondered if this was the first time Neil had ever actually asked for something that he really wanted.

“Good,” he said. There was no chance in hell that the feds were keeping Neil. He was a Fox. “I’d have a hell of a time fitting ‘Wesninski’ on a jersey.”

“I would like a word with you,” Browning said, sounding exhausted.

“About?”

“Your willingness to put your players in considerable danger, for one.”

This guy was really starting to piss David off. “Giving up on Neil now goes against everything we are. I’m game to argue with you about it for as long as it takes, but not if it means using up Neil’s allotted time. That’s not fair to any of them.”

David didn’t look away from Browning, but he heard Andrew say something else in German, and then Neil replied at length. After they were finished talking, Andrew let go of Neil completely and got to his feet. Neil stood up and faced David.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I couldn’t,” he said.

“Don’t worry about that now. Twenty minutes isn’t near long enough for this conversation. We can talk about it on the ride back to campus, right?”

“Yes. I promise. I just have to talk to them first.”

“Then go,” Dan said, and Neil looked past David to Dan and the other Foxes. “But come back to us as soon as they’re done with you, okay? We’ll figure this out as a team.”

“As a family,” Nicky added with the best approximation of a smile he could currently manage.

David could see the effect their encouraging words were having on Neil as he had to swallow a couple of times before he got another sentence out. “Thank you,” he said at last.

Allison waved him off with forced lightness. “No, thank you,” she insisted. “You just closed three outstanding bets and made me five hundred bucks. I’d rather find out exactly why and when you two hooked up than think about this awfulness any longer, so let’s talk about that on the ride back instead.”

Allison’s tact, as ever, was non-existent, and Aaron and Nicky both looked the most surprised by this revelation when neither Neil nor Andrew made any effort to deny it. But then again, they had more pressing issues to currently deal with.

“Ready?” Neil asked Andrew.

“Waiting on you.”

“I didn’t invite him,” Browning said.

“Trust me. You’ll fare a lot better if you take them both,” David said. He felt better knowing Neil wasn’t going alone; there was no way that Andrew would let them keep him.

Browning evidently decided this wasn’t an issue he wanted to force. “We’re leaving now,” he said and headed out the door.

David stepped out of the way but stopped Neil when he got to the doorway. “We’ll wait for you, alright? As long as it takes, Neil.”

He meant it. He needed Neil to know that he meant it.

Neil nodded, and stepped through the door, Andrew on his tail.

And with that, they were back to the waiting game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone was at all interested in boyfriend's progress of tfc, he's just about to read the bit where the 'crazy kids' take neil to columbia and he likes matt and renee because 'they just seem nice'. (he's super precious)


	19. Chapter 19

After Neil and Andrew left, everything suddenly became a lot easier. The Foxes each gave their statements over what they could remember from the riot, and then Kurt and the other agents packed up and left.

“I don’t like it,” Abby said. “With all of the agents gone, it feels like they’re going to try and keep Neil.”

David understood the fear, but he wasn’t worried. “Neil _wants_ to stay with us, and Andrew’s gone with him to remind him that _we_ want him to stay. Andrew won’t let the feds keep Neil. Not a chance in hell. And besides,” he peered out of the window to the carpark, “just because we can’t _see_ any agents, doesn’t mean none of them are here. I reckon someone’s watching us.”

Abby sighed. “Well, that’s creepy. But okay. As long as Neil and Andrew get back soon.”

David grimaced. “Honestly, I think it’ll take a while. We won’t see them until tomorrow probably; the feds have got almost nine years of ground to cover with Neil. I’m gonna go and sort out a couple more rooms for us.”

He headed down to reception, and Kevin came with him. David figured he probably just wanted a bit of breathing room away from the other Foxes in case they asked him anymore questions.

“You don’t have to worry, you know. Neil’s gonna give us all the whole story when he gets back, so they’ll leave you alone. They’d rather hear it from him anyway.”

“It’s not that,” Kevin said awkwardly. “It’s just. . . I’m sorry.”

“The fuck you sorry for?”

“Not telling you? I don’t know.”

David sighed. “Kevin, it wasn’t yours to tell. Neil didn’t want you to.”

“I know that.” Kevin frowned; he seemed confused by his own feelings. “I _do_ know that. But still.” His eyes that had been distracted and looking every which way a moment ago now settled on David’s face. “I told him to run, you know. After the banquet when I found out who he was? I told him to run.”

“Why didn’t he?”

Kevin didn’t say anything for a moment, and when he answered his voice was so quiet that David almost missed it. “Because he didn’t want to be alone anymore.”

* * *

 

Aaron had filled the non-German speakers in on parts of Neil and Andrew’s conversation, which was how they came to learn that Neil’s father had been executed by his uncle, who was apparently going to try and organise some kind of ceasefire with the Moriyamas now that Nathan was dead. More importantly, he informed them that the burns on Neil’s face had been left by a dashboard lighter.

It was hard to stomach, and no one felt much like talking after that, retiring to their own rooms to get some much needed rest.

The emotional rollercoaster of the last twenty-four hours meant that David slept surprisingly well, exhaustion catching up with him. It was even enough to upset his usual routine of waking up at 4.30, although he supposed that 6am was still early enough.

The Foxes all dragged themselves down to breakfast at around nine, quiet and subdued, bruises looking even worse today. There didn’t seem to be anything to talk about except Neil, and no one wanted to talk about Neil until he was back, so no one said much of anything at all.

Kevin half-heartedly brought up their next Exy match, but was shot down by several death glares and he stared meekly into his bowl of cereal. Exy was the last thing on anyones minds until their team was united once more. Spring break had now started, and most of the upperclassmen had missed flights they had booked to go home, but none of them seemed to care. Neil was the current priority; everything else could wait.

The day dragged by painfully slowly, everyone going stir crazy with the waiting and the not hearing anything. But at least they could spread out now; the upperclassmen in one room, Kevin, Nicky and Aaron in another, and Abby and David in the one they had spent most of the previous day in, waiting for Neil. And here they were again.

David received a phonecall from Browning at 9.30 that night saying that Neil and Andrew would be back shortly, and David was so relieved that he could feel his whole body physically relax; he hadn’t realised just how much tension he was holding.

The minutes ticked by, but soon enough, after a perfunctory knock, the door to the room opened to admit Neil, Andrew and a dispassionate looking agent David didn’t know the name of.

Neil held a little bag of medicine, clutched tightly to him in his bandaged hands. Both he and Andrew looked exhausted, though they wore it in different ways. Once David had assessed them, he looked to the agent.

“Giving me a ride to the bus?” The man nodded, and David motioned Neil and Andrew further inside. “I’ll be right back. Figure out if we’re staying or going.”

He left with the agent and shut the door behind him. The agent said nothing on the short trip to fetch the bus, but that was fine because David didn’t have anything to say him anyway. His thoughts were back at the hotel with Neil; he sort of hoped he’d decide to leave straight away. David couldn’t wait to get out of Baltimore.

After he’d got back and parked the bus, he took the stairs two at a time to get back to the room. He tried the door but it was locked, so he knocked. A moment later Andrew let him in without a word, before heading over to the bed and taking up a post behind Neil while Abby treated his arms.

These wounds, David had not yet seen, and he stood in between the beds to survey the damage.

It didn’t make easy viewing; thin cuts that had already scabbed over lined Neil’s arms from his elbows almost to his wrists, and in between the lines were circular burns. Knowing now that Neil’s face wounds were from a dashboard lighter, David surmised that was also what had caused _these_ burns. Neil’s wrists were torn open from handcuffs, wounds that were yet to scab, and the backs of Neil’s knuckles were covered in yet more horrific burns. It took everything in David to not react; the pain Neil had been inflicted must have been excruciating, and once again, David hadn’t been able to protect him.

Neil noticed the scrutiny and made a fist. David understood; Neil was trying to show that he could still play, that his hands weren’t complete write-offs. It didn’t make David any less angry.

“Are we spending the night here?” he asked.

“I hate Baltimore,” Neil said, sounding heavy with exhaustion. “Can we go?”

David nodded. “How much longer do you need?” he asked Abby.

“Ten minutes, maybe. We’ll be done by the time everyone’s checked out and on the bus.”

“I’ll round them up,” David said, and turned back to Neil. “They won’t bother you until we’re back on campus.”

“I promised them answers,” Neil said.

“The bus isn’t set up for a conversation like this. Even two to a row they’d be too spaced out to hear you easy. The locker room has a better setup. Nap back to the stadium and deal with them in familiar territory.” He didn’t add that Neil looked like he was in dire need of sleep, but he supposed it went without saying.

“My room key’s on the dresser,” Abby said, and David picked it and his paperwork up and headed off to get the Foxes.

He knocked on Kevin, Aaron and Nicky’s door first, but when there was no answer he went to the upperclassmen’s instead. All of the remaining Foxes were inside, watching a movie. Dan had clearly rounded them all up to try and keep them distracted and David was reminded yet again of what a great captain she was.

“Neil and Andrew are back,” he said. “Get your stuff and load the bus. I want to be on the road in ten minutes.”

The relief in the room was palpable, but just as several mouths opened to ask questions, David held up a hand to silence them.

“Before anyone asks, you’re to leave Neil alone for the trip back. This is a conversation that can wait until we’re back at the locker room where there’s more space and everyone will be able to hear what’s going on. And the poor kid needs a rest anyway.”

“Coach,” Dan asked. “Is Neil. . . okay?”

David sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Would you be?” There was a silence. “It’s probably best not to ask. C’mon now, Foxes. Time’s a wastin’.”

To their credit, the Foxes were very quick about gathering their stuff and handing their keys in, and David gave Dan the bus keys and sent them all out to load up and get on board while he checked out. Once he had finished and gone out to join them, they were still waiting on Abby, Neil and Andrew, but it was only a couple more minutes before they arrived.

David waited until Neil was lying down on his seat in front of Andrew’s, and then he started the engine and began the long journey back home.

* * *

 

David stopped at a gas station not far from the stadium and enlisted Dan, Renee and Nicky to help carry coffee for everyone while David collected snack food.

Back at the lounge in the stadium, it took a few minutes for everyone to get settled with their coffee and food. Neil sat in his usual place on the sofa, with Andrew in the middle and Kevin on the other side. David was just starting to get himself settled when he caught the tail end of a conversation in French between Kevin and Neil. Whatever Kevin was saying was clearly agitating Neil, and Andrew shoved Kevin’s shoulder until he sat back, a guarded hand on his throat with its visible marks from Andrew’s hands.

David should probably talk to Andrew about that. But what could he say?

Neil looked at his feet, then around at all the Foxes. “I don’t know where to start,” he admitted.

“The beginning?” Dan offered.

And so he did. He told them officially who his father was, and who his mother had been, coming from another crime family. He mentioned playing Exy as a child but under a different name and as a backliner, and then he told them about suddenly ending up in a living nightmare on the run with his mother, constantly looking over their shoulders.

He briefly went over those eight years, which ended with a confrontation with Neil’s father in Seattle, during which his mother was injured. Neil’s eyes went hollow as he explained how they got away and made it to California, but unbeknownst to Neil, his mother had been slowly dying the entire time. He told them he’d burned the car she was in and everything else that wasn’t absolutely essential, then had buried her bones afterwards.

It was a harrowing tale.

After that, Neil explained ending up in Millport, becoming Neil Josten, squatting in a house with no electricity, and then joining the local high school trying out for the Exy team, having to take a position as a striker as it was all that was available.

He shrugged. “I was alone, and I had nothing and no one. I just wanted to play Exy, you know? Until I had to disappear again.”

He talked a little about that year, about Coach Hernandez and sleeping in the locker room — “He knew I was doing it, I think, but he never said anything. I was grateful.” — and then he mentioned the last game of his high school season.

“Just like that, it was over. I didn’t know what I was going to do next, or where I’d end up, or who I’d have to be.” His gaze lifted to David’s, and held it there. “And then _you_ showed up, with Kevin and Andrew and a contract and the chance of a life I knew I could never have. But I _wanted_ it, so badly.”

David had to swallow the lump in his throat.

Neil explained realising that Kevin didn’t remember who he was and deciding that gave him at least a little leeway to play for the Foxes, figuring that if Kevin figured it out, he could still run. And then he spoke of David telling him who the Moriyamas really were and that the Ravens were moving district, and all of the times he thought about running when things got too much. He insisted that he hadn’t known exactly who his father was to the Moriyamas until the fall banquet when Riko had revealed he knew who Neil was and told him all about it. His knowledge of the complicated hierarchy was still murky, and he admitted he had no idea how his uncle was supposed to fit in.

Neil went on to say that now that Riko knew who and where he was, he hadn’t seen much point in running.

“My trail wasn’t cold enough anymore. Riko would have been able to point my father’s people in the right direction, and sooner or later they would have found me. I figured that if I stayed, I might make it through to championships and the Ravens rematch, but I knew that I wouldn’t be back for next year.” He looked at David apologetically, but David didn't know what he was sorry for. “I was going to tell the feds everything they wanted to know, figuring that if I was going out, I could at least try and dismantle my father’s circle in the process. I figured that by May I’d either be in federal custody or I’d be dead.” It was clear from his tone which of these Neil thought was more likely.

Neil dropped his head, no longer able to meet anyone’s eyes. “I thought that if I was going to die anyway, then I didn’t want to spend my last few months alone. I wanted to stay with all of you.”

For the longest time, no one said a word, each processing in their own way. Neil’s distress over being offered the vice-captaincy suddenly made perfect sense to David; Neil hadn’t thought he’d be alive to accept it.

After a while, a few of the Foxes started to hesitantly ask a few questions, emboldened by Neil’s immediate honesty. It was through these questions that they learned the locker room incident hadn’t been Riko’s doing, but people in Nathan’s circle. After the game in Binghamton, Neil had received a phonecall from Lola Malcolm, one of Nathan’s inner circle, who had threatened the Foxes if Neil didn’t comply. He said that he’d planned on confessing everything then, as soon as he’d gotten to the locker room. He wanted to call the FBI and keep the Foxes there until they could be taken into protective custody, but Nathan’s men were already in the room with them; the men David had believed were security guards. They had staged the riot which was how they’d got Neil out, and then they’d taken him to his father’s house in Baltimore, torturing him on the way. Neil didn’t go into the details of that, but he didn’t need to; the evidence was written all over him.

He’d said his father had been seconds away from cutting his tendons to keep him from running (a thought so revolting that Abby clapped a hand to her mouth in outrage) when his uncle’s people had barged in, guns blazing, and then Stuart had killed Nathan and left Neil for the feds, promising he was trying to cut a deal with the Moriyamas.

And that brought them full circle.

Renee, in her calm and soothing manner, asked an unsettling question. “You said your uncle is negotiating a deal with Kengo. What if he can’t?”

“They will get rid of me,” Neil said bluntly.

“You’re not serious?” Matt cut in, shock colouring his voice. It was clear from his tone that he’d assumed Neil was out of the woods now, a hope David had also been clinging to, no matter how futile.

“I am a loose end, dangerous enough on a good day and unforgivable when Kengo is dying. The Moriyamas can’t afford leaks in their empire when they’re about to shift that much power around.”

“When will you know?” Dan asked.

“Uncle Stuart said he would get in touch with me when he was done sorting things out.”

“Don’t worry. Andrew will protect you,” Nicky said, desperate to try and lighten the mood.

“These are the Moriyamas, Nicky,” Kevin exclaimed. “This is not Riko and the master; this is not Neil’s father. Andrew can’t—”

“I know,” Nicky snapped. “Just shut up.”

With Neil’s story out of the way, and a new silence falling upon the room, David turned begrudgingly to what their next problem would be; the press. He filled Neil in on what Browning had told him about trying to take steps to hide Neil’s name, but that it was likely at least one person had spotted the bus, and once Neil was seen with his injuries, two and two would be put together. Neil had to decide how he wanted to handle it, and how much he wanted to reveal.

Allison suggested giving them what they wanted just to get it over with, insisting that soon enough it would all blow over and on to the next thing. Dan, however, brought up the Exy fans, who would cling on long after the general public had forgotten.

“It’s going to be our freshman year all over again, but worse,” she said, and David had to agree with her.

“Unless we find something they want more than a piece of me,” Neil said.

Matt looked doubtful. “Like what? It’s kind of a hard story to top.”

But Neil obviously had something in mind, as he leaned forward to look past Andrew to Kevin, and said something in French.

Kevin responded tersely, obviously not happy, but when Neil said something else and this time Kevin didn’t respond, Neil straightened and looked back to the expectant Foxes.

“We’re going to split their attention between us. Kevin’s going to out his father.”

Now _that_ took David by surprise, and he had to hide the effect it had on him. He had always been curious about Kevin’s father, ever since finding out Kevin wasn’t his, but Kayleigh had never divulged that information.

“Wait, you know who he is?” Nicky asked.

“I found out,” Kevin gritted out. This was clearly the last thing he wanted to talk about. “My mother wrote to the master when she found out she was pregnant. I took the letter from his house and hid it at the stadium a few years ago.”

“And I took it from Evermore,” Neil added, earning himself a shocked look from Kevin which he disregarded with a shrug. “Jean showed me where it was. I stole it so you’d do something about it.”

“So who is it?” Dan asked curiously.

“I’ll contact him before I tell anyone else,” Kevin said, looking at the ground. “He deserves a forewarning.”

That taken care of, Renee looked to Neil. “What do you need from us, Neil?”

“Everything I needed, you already gave me. You let me stay.”

Dan crossed the room and enveloped Neil in a careful but firm hug. It took him a while, but Neil finally relaxed and then Dan let go, catching the yawn he tried to stifle. “Come on. It’s been a long day and I’m ready to see it over with. Let’s sleep this off and figure out in the morning where we go from here. Maybe we’ll all get breakfast or something. Alright?”

“Alright,” Neil agreed, and it was like a spell was broken. Everyone got to their feet and got ready to leave.

Abby picked up Neil’s medicine and handed it to him. “Let me check on you again tomorrow, but be careful washing, okay? Wrap your arms if you can. If you get soap in those burns it’s going to hurt.”

Neil nodded, clutching his medicine. He looked at David, but he seemed to have no more words for today, and he followed the rest of the Foxes out to the carpark.

It felt quiet and still with everyone else gone, and David exchanged a glance with Abby.

“What a day,” she said quietly.

“That’s the understatement of the fucking year.”

She shook her head. “I can’t get my head around it. How could anybody _do_ —” she cut herself off, shaking her head again furiously.

“He’s home now,” David said.

“Thank god for that.”

David slumped into the sofa, abruptly exhausted, and Abby joined him. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“I wonder when Kevin’s going to speak to his father?”

David shook his head. “Fuck knows. Soon, I guess. I almost feel sorry for him. Poor sucker’s got one hell of a media shit-show heading his way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some of boyfriend's thoughts:  
> \- he really, really likes matt.  
> \- like, I cannot stress enough how much he likes matt.  
> \- "I feel a little bit bad for neil." "a little bit?" "okay, a lot."  
> \- he's starting to like aaron because of him saying "real mature" or whatever after neil throws a glass at him.  
> \- and my favourite observation so far, "kevin and andrew are both sort of. . . weirdly in love with neil."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to everyone who has commented on the last couple of chapters (and in general), it really means such a lot and I really, really appreciate it :))
> 
> this chapter's not quite as long, but it features the big kevin reveal so it didn't feel right to include much else, so it's all pretty much one running scene.
> 
> I really wanted to do this bit justice but I'm not sure if I have, ahhhh let me know what you think <3

For the second day in a row, David’s exhaustion pushed him past his usual 4:30am wake up, and it was closer to 6:30 when he finally got out of bed. He took his time with his morning walk and breakfast, just needing some time alone to process everything that had happened over the weekend, and everything that Neil had told them the night before. His relief that Neil was now back where he belonged was potent, but along with it was the underlining fear that Neil’s uncle would be unable to smooth things over with Kengo. David wanted to believe that if that was the case, then somehow he’d be able to protect Neil from the fallout. But it just didn’t feel true.

News about Neil was bound to hit the media soon enough, and David wanted to get ahead of it. He needed to rearrange travel for his new recruits; he wanted to get them all signed up before the press broke the story and anyone had the chance to get jittery, and so a little after nine, he headed over to the stadium.

Once he got there and stopped by the lounge to turn on the TV and check the news stations, he saw that somehow — and yet inevitably — the media already had pieces of the story. They were currently drawing their own conclusions, but all of the relevant sports stations had images of the Foxes loading onto the bus in Baltimore, blurry pictures of a very clearly injured Neil Josten the most prominent ones. David resisted the urge to kick over the coffee table, turned off the TV, and retreated to his office.

It was a busy morning full of going over itineraries and time spent on the phone trying to change his flights, and slowly but surely David made progress. At the same time as doing _that_ , he was inundated with phonecalls from the press, the board, and Chuck. He avoided them all, feeling a little guilty about leaving Chuck hanging at the moment, but he hadn’t worked out yet what he was going to say. Chuck left him a voicemail asking what the fuck was going on and demanding that David call him back as soon as possible.

A little later on, Abby poked her head through the door.

“Hey. How’s it going?” she asked.

“Pretty good. I only have a couple more flights to sort out. What are you doing here?”

“Nicky called and said they’re all going out of town for the week, but I need to see Neil before they leave so I’m meeting him here.”

“Yeah, Dan just called and let me know they’re going to the mountains. It’ll be good for them to all get away, I think.”

“I can’t quite believe they’re all going _together_.”

“Well, Neil will obviously be sticking with Andrew, and the upperclassmen probably just don’t want to let Neil out of their sights.”

“I know the feeling,” Abby said dryly.

She headed back out to the lounge to wait on Neil, and David busied himself fixing his remaining flights.

Ten minutes later, still on the phone, David spotted Neil lingering through the crack in his door, so waved him in and Neil sat opposite the desk to wait for David to finish. Once he’d made all the necessary arrangements, he sat back in his chair and looked at Neil.

It was obvious that Neil had something important to say but couldn’t quite find the words. David didn’t rush him, just waited him out quietly while Neil fiddled with the bandages on his hands and tried to sort through his thoughts.

Eventually, Neil found his voice. “You should have thrown my file away. You should have walked away when I threw your contract back in your face. But you took a chance on me and you brought me here. You saved my life. Three times,” Neil said, holding up three fingers for emphasis, “you’ve saved my life. I can’t just say ‘thank you’ for that.”

But David had never needed gratitude from Neil; he didn’t need it now. “You don’t have to. I brought you here, but you saved yourself. You’re the one who decided to stay. You’re the one who stopped being afraid long enough to realize you could get a grip here and a foothold there. You found your own way.”

Neil opened his mouth in what David was sure would be a self-deprecating protest, but David wasn’t finished yet and continued. “If anything, I should be thanking you. You told us last night you intended to end the year dead or in federal custody.” Thinking about it made David feel sick, but the point needed to be made. “You could have shut everyone and everything out and worried about yourself this year. Instead you agreed to help Dan fix this team. You’re saving the two I thought we couldn’t reach, and you’re a living example for Kevin to follow.”

David didn’t miss the way Neil’s eyes widened at the last point, and allowed himself a tiny smile. “He never used to watch you, but he’s had eyes on you since December trying to figure out how you stand your ground.”

“He can’t be taught,” Neil said, a little bitterly.

“So you think.” David shrugged. “From where I’m sitting, you’re making real progress.”

Neil sat quietly while he took this in, but after a moment David nudged the conversation towards their looming problem. “Neil, it’s all over the news.”

The look Neil shot him was resigned, but not surprised, even though David highly doubted Neil had checked the news stations himself. Ignorance really was bliss. “We tried staying in our rooms and out of sight while you were with the FBI, but they waited us out. They have pictures of the bus and all of us loading up to leave. It didn’t take them long to put the pieces together. My phone’s been ringing all morning between the press, the board, and Chuck. School board’s going to want to talk to you before you return to classes.”

Neil’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. “Okay,” he said.

“You want me to play the ‘no comment’ game with the press?”

“If you can. I’ll—” Neil broke off and gestured helplessly. The prospect of talking to the press looked like it was making him feel nauseous; David sympathised. “—talk to them next week,” he finally got out. “You can tell them that.”

“Tuesday?” David asked, after thinking about it for a moment. “Tuesday or Wednesday would give you Monday to deal with all the on-campus reactions. I’ll schedule a time and see what I can do to distract them in the meantime. Maybe I’ll let them know you’ve accepted vice-captaincy for next year.” David said the last part with a raised eyebrow, almost daring Neil to argue with him.

Of course, Neil was never one to back down from a dare. “I’m not qualified to be that.” He flailed an arm at the paperwork for the new recruits that covered David’s desk. “All of them have more experience than I do, and they’re not going to want to follow a gangster’s son.”

“Andrew didn’t want to follow you either. Look how that turned out. You’ll figure something out one way or another.” David believed it with every fibre of his being; if Neil could convince Andrew he was worth following, he could convince _anyone_.

After a lengthy pause, Neil finally said, “I’ll do my best.”

“Good. Now get going. Dan called to tell me you’re all going out of town. Get away from all of this for a bit, get some fresh air in you, and come back ready to make the impossible happen.”

“Yes, Coach,” Neil said, and he got to his feet and left the office to go see Abby. He didn’t close the door behind him and a moment later Kevin skulked in, shutting the door and sitting down heavily in the seat Neil had just vacated.

“Kevin,” David said in surprise. “I didn’t know you were here. You just waiting on Neil?”

“Yes,” Kevin said, then screwed up his face and shook his head. “No, actually, that’s not why I’m here.” A strange tension lined Kevin’s frame, and he looked anywhere but at David. “I need to tell you something,” he said.

David filled with instant dread. “Oh, god,” he said. “What _now_?”

“You know how I said that I was going to break the news to my father before we revealed it to the press?”

David froze. “Have you told him already?” That was even faster than David had been expecting; he worked to keep his curiosity in check. “How did he take it?” Probably not well, if Kevin’s current demeanour was anything to go by.

Kevin gritted his teeth. “Not yet, I’m trying to do it right now.” He looked at David meaningfully.

It took a moment for Kevin’s words to land, and David shifted in his chair; his heart skipped a beat. “Kevin, I’m gonna need for you to spell out for me, in no uncertain terms, exactly what it is you’re trying to fucking say.”

“It’s you," he blurted out. He sounded anguished; his voice broke in the middle. “You’re my da— my father.”

David put his elbows on the table and covered his mouth with his hands. Then he shook his head.

He was quiet for so long that Kevin felt the need to break the silence. “I’m sorry,” he said miserably.

“Kevin, I _asked_ your mother when she told me she was pregnant. She said you weren’t mine.” David felt weirdly disconnected from this moment, like it wasn’t really happening. Or like he was watching it happen to someone else.

“She lied. She knew you wanted your own team one day and thought you’d put your own dreams on hold if you knew the truth.”

“My own _dreams_?” David was stunned into repeating. The sheer entitlement of the idea that this had been for David’s benefit was staggering. Like he hadn’t been adult enough to be able to juggle his own dreams with being a father. Like being a father hadn’t also been one of his dreams. “Kevin, where’s the letter? Show me the letter.”

Kevin pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it over to David, who opened it carefully. It was worn at the edges and torn slightly in some places obviously due to how many times Kevin had read it. The thought of Kevin sitting in his room in Evermore and reading this letter over and over again tugged at David’s heart. It was a lonely scenario to imagine.

The words in the letter confirmed what Kevin had told him, and David felt a rush of useless fury rise up towards Kayleigh. But there was nowhere for it to go; Kayleigh was dead. David had loved her once, and Kevin was all he had left of her, and that had always been enough for him to want to look out for and do right by Kevin. This changed nothing, and yet it changed everything, and the fact that both were true made David's head hurt.

He refolded the letter and started to pass it back to Kevin, but he gestured for David to keep it. “It’s yours, Coach. You should have it. I don’t need it anymore.”

David paused, then opened his desk drawer and dropped the letter into it.

“When you first found out, why didn’t you tell me straight away?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin said, looking at a fixed point on the desk. “I was at Evermore with Riko and the master and it didn’t seem. . .” He closed his eyes, and David knew whatever he was going to say would hurt. “Relevant,” Kevin finished, barely a whisper.

“It was relevant to me,” David said with dangerous quiet, and Kevin noticeably shrank back in his chair. He seemed to be trying to make himself as small as possible. David swallowed the bitterness. “If you’d told me, I could have gotten you out of there years ago.”

“You couldn’t.”

“Kevin—” David warned, grief and anger warring inside him.

“I came to you when it mattered, didn’t I?” Kevin bulled on, stricken. His guilt was evident.

“Yeah, when Riko had already smashed your fucking hand to pieces!” David snapped, and his voice was starting to rise now; he needed to curb his anger. On his desk, his phone started ringing, but David disconnected it and then slammed his phone back down. “You showed up already broken when it was too late for me to protect you.”

“I came to you because I trusted that you would help,” Kevin insisted.

“But did you come to me as my son, or did you just assume that I wouldn’t turn you away because of my history with your mother?”

“I—” Kevin started, then broke off. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, before shrugging sheepishly. “Both?” he offered weakly at last.

All David could think about was the fact that he’d been deprived of twenty years as a father. And that despite seeing Kevin every day for the better part of the last two years, Kevin hadn’t told him the truth until he’d _had_ to.

“You had no right to keep this from me,” he said.

“It could have been dangerous for you. If Riko—”

“Don’t give me that shit, I don’t want to hear about Riko right now,” David cut him off, pointing a finger in warning. “Maybe I can understand you not saying anything while you were still at Evermore, but you have had literally so many opportunities to tell me the truth since coming here, and you didn’t take a single one.” David shook his head again, astonished, then dropped his head into his hands.

The hits just never stopped coming.

The room was tensely silent for almost a full minute until David finally lifted his head up and looked Kevin in the eye. “Tell me something: if Neil hadn’t forced your hand, would you _ever_ have told me?”

Kevin’s face was pale; he looked distraught. But it wasn’t _his_ world that had just tilted sideways. “Yeah, one day,” he said, but it sounded like he was just saying what he thought David wanted to hear. “Probably?”

The uncertainty of the answer startled a humourless laugh out of David. “You don’t even know,” he said. “Jesus, Kevin.”

“I’m sorry,” Kevin said again. “But you know now, so it doesn’t matter. You know _now_.”

“It matters to _me_ ,” David growled. He was so very, very angry and so very, very sad. He needed to be alone. He needed to re-think all of the conversations he’d ever had with Kevin in light of this latest truth-bomb. He needed to get black-out drunk and mourn the loss of what could have been. Had he known from the start, _he_ would have had custody of Kevin when Kayleigh had died. David clenched his hands into fists.

“You should have come to me with that letter as soon as you found it. I would have taken care of you,” David said finally, because it _needed_ to be said, even though it didn’t help anything now and made neither of them feel better.

Kevin dragged his gaze from the desk up to David’s eyes. “I know,” he admitted quietly.

David sighed, then motioned towards the door. “Neil’s probably waiting for you. Have a good time at the mountains.” It sounded forced; mechanical. But what else could he say?

Kevin nodded mutely and got to his feet. He made it to the door but paused with his hand a couple of inches from the handle. He spoke without turning around. “For what it’s worth, I really _am_ sorry.”

He left before David had formed a response. He just hoped that Kevin was apologising for not telling the truth, and not for being David’s son. Because if it was the latter, he was going to kick Kevin’s ass.

A light knock on the door jerked David out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Abby step into his office.

“What did Kevin want?” she asked curiously. “He looked upset.” She got a better look at David and concern flashed in her eyes. “ _You_ look upset. What happened?”

“He’s mine,” David said dumbly, but Abby obviously didn’t follow.

“What?”

“Kevin. He’s mine. He’s my son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's time for jack's corner! (jack is boyfriend's name, btw -- I felt rude just referring to him as boyfriend.) these are things I remember him saying but for some of them I can't remember which bit he said them at lmao.
> 
> thoughts on the rest of TFC :  
> \- "I think neil might be a little bit gay for kevin" (after kevin bullies neil into doing the interview and in neil's inner monologue he says something about not wanting kevin to hate him)  
> \- "um. . . I think neil and andrew are about to become best friends."  
> \- he had a good old laugh at kevin's response to seth's death ("what about the line up?")  
> \- "also, wtf, seth's dead?!"
> 
> thoughts on TRK so far:  
> \- "I cannot wait to unlock renee's tragic backstory."  
> \- "matt is definitely my favourite." "I knew he would be, he's too nice for him to not be." "am I that predictable?" "yes." "I just think niceness is a very underrated quality." "I know." (I shit you not guys jack is a precious bean)
> 
> that's all I can remember right now but I think he's almost up to the banquet so that should be exciting. on a side note I'm so glad some of you are enjoying me including these bits, it's just a silly little thing but I thought it was cute and funny and I get a real kick out of it :))
> 
> ALSO (I'm sorry I know this note is stupidly long now) I've had an idea for an AU that I'm considering writing. It's like a post-apocalyptic AU -- not a zombie apocalypse because I'm pretty sure at least one of those already exists -- but like, if anyone's read The Road by cormac mcarthy? I just think a lot of the characters in TFC had personalities that lend themselves really well to that kind of scenario and I had an idea for the beginning of such a story. good idea/bad idea? answers on a postcard (or just in the comments).


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a wild jean appears

In a lot of ways, Kevin’s reveal couldn’t have come at a better time. There was so much that needed to be done in a very short period of time and David very much switched to auto-pilot. He was busy, because he was _always_ busy, and that at least allowed his brain to do more than just replay his conversation with Kevin over and over again. David had always been good at compartmentalising, and right now, he had places to go and players to sign.

David had crammed all of his travel to sign next year’s new players into the first three days of spring break, which meant he left on Monday afternoon, only a couple of hours after the Foxes had headed off to the mountains, and he returned very late Wednesday night with six new contracts. No one had been hesitant to sign at all, much to David’s surprise. A couple of them were more morbidly curious than anything else, not that David told them anything about the situation, instead saying he wasn’t at liberty to say but that it would have no bearing on the following season.

David’s initial thinking in squashing all of his travel into such a short time-frame was that it gave him the rest of the week to juggle Chuck and the school board and try and appease them in some way to make it easier for Neil when he got back from vacation and had to plead his case. In the end, it turned out to be a good thing for an entirely different reason, because on Tuesday, Kengo Moriyama died, and on Wednesday, Renee showed up at Abby’s with a very hurt Jean Moreau.

David had still been on a flight when they arrived, but he had a frantic voicemail from Abby when he landed and headed straight over. He let himself in and followed the muffled voices to the guest bedroom.

David had been expecting Jean to be in a bad state, but it still didn’t lesson the shock of seeing him in person, and David couldn’t help the sympathetic wince when he stepped into the bedroom. Jean’s face was a mess; his nose had clearly been broken and both of his eyes and around his jaw were black and blue with horrific bruising. Chunks of his hair were missing and he was curled over, holding his ribs in a way that was telling. He groaned incoherently, the occasional French word slipping out, but David wasn’t sure he’d understand even if he _did_ speak French. Both Abby and Renee leaned over Jean, trying to clean him up.

“Jesus Christ,” David said, and Abby and Renee both jerked their heads up, obviously not having heard him come in. “Riko?”

Renee nodded, her mouth in a tight line, eyebrows knitted together in concern or anger or a combination of the two. “Coach Moriyama is in New York for Kengo’s funeral,” she said. “Riko wasn’t invited.”

“Fucking _hell_ ,” David said, knowing more than he wanted to about Riko’s temper and daddy issues. He could only imagine what Riko’s angry grief would lead him to do. Actually, he didn’t _have_ to, because the evidence was right in front of him in the form of a broken French backliner. “How did you get him out?”

“I got both my mother and Edgar Allan’s president involved. It took us a while to track Jean down but once we did, I was allowed to take Jean away because of his current state. I brought him straight here.”

“And Jean let you take him?”

Renee motioned to Jean. “He isn’t really in a position to _let_ me do anything, Coach. I’m not even sure he knows where he is yet.”

Eventually, Abby had done all she could for the time being until some of the swelling had gone down and she could get a better look, and Jean fell into what was bound to be a restless, painful sleep. David had a cup of coffee waiting for her in the kitchen when she came out, a dark look in her eyes.

“I thought my days of patching up people after Riko had gotten his hands on them were over,” she said, pulling out a chair for herself and propping her chin up on the table with exhaustion.

“Fingers crossed this is the last fuckin’ time,” David said gruffly.

Abby nodded, then took a big gulp of her coffee. “Did everyone sign their contracts?” she asked after a moment, clearly wanting to distract herself from the situation at hand.

“Yeah. No problems, even with all the buzz about Neil.” The media had pretty much put all of the pieces together now; all they were really waiting on at this point was confirmation. David would have to organise a press conference for next week. Just another thing to add to his ever growing list. “One of the kids had more of an interest in Kevin than Neil.”

Abby paused. “Speaking of,” she started, “have you spoken to Kevin at all?”

David shook his head. “I’ll talk to him again when he gets back. We both need time to process on our own, I think. Now that I know.”

“Do. . . do you want to talk about it?” Abby asked hesitantly.

But David had paperwork to file and a school board to talk to and press to distract and a beaten up Frenchman two rooms over and it was all too much. “Abby, I _can’t_. I just can’t right now.”

“That’s okay,” Abby said, and she managed a small smile. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Thank you,” David said. “You good here for now?”

“Yeah. Jean’s asleep at the moment and I’ve got Renee to help when he wakes up. I’ll call you in the morning.”

David got to his feet and pressed a kiss to Abby’s temple. “You, Abby Winfield, are a saint.”

“Ah, well. It takes one to know one.”

* * *

 

On Thursday, David spent an hour on a conference call with the school board and Chuck, answering their questions about Neil to the best of his ability and pleading Neil’s case for them to keep him enrolled. The board said they wouldn’t make a decision one way or another until they’d spoken to Neil directly, and so once David informed them Neil would be returning to campus at some point on Sunday, they arranged for another conference call then to decide Neil’s fate.

Not knowing one way or another was agonising and David would have preferred to have been able to give Neil good news straight away, but at the very least he felt like he’d managed to lay the groundwork for a favourable outcome. If there was anything David was good at, it was fighting for his Foxes.

Avoiding the media questions was easy, if not irritating, as David just uttered, “No comment,” into his phone and hung up again every time it rang. But once he’d done everything he could until Neil returned, there was little else to occupy David’s mind other than Kevin’s bombshell. Every time David stumbled upon a quiet moment for himself, Kevin’s voice popped unbidden into his mind. _“It’s you. You’re my da— my father.”_

The thing was, it made perfect sense. The math obviously worked out; it was why he’d first thought Kevin was his back when Kayleigh had told him she was pregnant. He’d _wanted_ Kevin to be his. He’d been hurt that he wasn’t. And now that David knew the truth he was happy and devastated and a mixture of other emotions so potent he didn’t know what to call them. He could have helped raise Kevin, and the fact that he’d been deprived of that filled him with such useless, frustrating rage. David wasn’t accustomed to feeling sorry for himself. It wasn’t a feeling he relished.

Jean should have been a good enough distraction, but even his presence reminded David of Kevin. When Jean came to on Thursday, saw Renee and found out where she’d brought him, he tried to leave. He was in no fit state to move so it wasn’t too difficult to talk him into staying initially, but the following day, he almost made it to the door before David apprehended him as gently as possible and got him back to bed.

The fact that Riko could instill so much fear in Jean that he was desperate to return to the Nest despite the violence he’d just been subjected to was staggering and eye-opening. Neil had willingly taken himself to Evermore over Christmas, and David found himself grateful that at least Kengo hadn’t died _then_ , lest Neil had returned in a similar state to Jean _now_. Then he felt horribly guilty for thinking that, and reminded himself that Neil had returned in bad enough shape as it was. And then he thought about what Neil had just endured in Baltimore, and he had to sit down.

It was all too much. It was everything, all at once.

By the time Sunday rolled around, David had managed to pull himself together. The kids were all due back and he needed to put his coach hat back on and be who they expected him to be. They’d all know the truth by now, David was fairly sure. If Kevin hadn’t filled them in, Neil probably had.

Renee left early Sunday morning to get to the cabin where the others were staying in order to give Andrew his car back, and then just after Abby and David had eaten a few sandwiches for lunch, Abby’s front door opened and Dan called out a greeting to let them know they had company.

David exchanged a brief glance with Kevin when the Foxes all filed into the kitchen, but Abby was fairly quick to take him down to the guest bedroom and see Jean. David adamantly ignored Dan’s stare, although he could practically feel it boring a hole through his cheek.

Once he heard the door shut behind Kevin and Abby, he cast a look around the assembled Foxes. “Consensus?” he asked, because they were a team, and they made decisions as a team.

“He can hide with us until he’s better. What he does after that is up to him,” Dan said, which was pretty much what David had had in mind. He nodded, and turned his attention to Neil.

“Neil, the board knows you were coming back today.”

“They want to talk,” Neil said, sounding wearied by the prospect already.

“They told me to call them as soon as you returned.” He looked at Neil appraisingly, and allowed him a little leeway. “Have you returned?”

He could see Neil really wanted to take the temporary out David was offering, but in the end he steeled his jaw and nodded. “Yeah. I’m back.”

David stepped into the hallway and called Chuck.

“Neil just got back,” he said when Chuck picked up. “When do you want us?”

There was a pause as Chuck evidently made up his mind. “No time like the present, I suppose,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”

“We’ll be there in ten.”

It only took a moment of lingering in the kitchen doorway for Neil to get the hint and follow David out. The short trip over to Chuck’s was made in utter silence; David wanted to tell Neil everything was going to be fine, but seeing as he didn’t _actually_ know that was true, it didn’t seem fair. So instead he said nothing at all.

Besides, he was also steeling himself for the news he was about to break to Chuck and the school board about Kevin.

It was going to be a fun afternoon all around, then.

* * *

 

A little over an hour later, David dropped Neil off at the curb of Fox Tower, and Neil got out of the car with a dull sounding, “Thanks.” David watched until Neil had entered the building, and then headed back to Abby’s.

Abby was just coming out of the guest room when David got there, and she shut the door quietly behind her. David followed her to the kitchen.

“How is he?” he asked.

“He’s sleeping. He’s still in a lot of pain, but that means he’s healing.” She shrugged. “I’m doing the best I can.”

David nodded and slumped into a chair.

“How did it go?” Abby asked.

“They sure do like to argue a lot, but they voted in favour of Neil in the end.”

Abby visibly brightened. “That’s great!” she said. “And. . . the other thing?”

David half-smiled at Abby’s valiant attempt to tiptoe around the Kevin issue. “It went about as well as can be expected. It’s not like I kept it from them, I didn’t fuckin’ _know_ —” He broke off, irritated, and shook his head. “Anyway, they were just trying to guess at what the public and media reaction is going to be. And I guess we’ll find that out after the press conference.”

“It’ll be a busy week, then,” Abby surmised.

David groaned and dropped his head into his hands. “I think that’s a pretty fair assessment, yeah.”

Abby eased soothing fingers through David’s hair.

“Hey,” David said. “Remember when all we had to worry about was just Exy games? No gangsters, no psychotic Riko, no illegitimate children?”

It all sounded ludicrous said out loud and Abby snorted an unbidden little laugh. David looked up at her and she covered her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said, desperately trying to stifle her giggles. “It’s really not funny.”

“No,” David said, “it’s not.” And it _really_ wasn’t, but Abby’s helpless inappropriate laughter brought out a laugh in David, too, and all of a sudden they were two fully grown adults giggling in the kitchen over a situation that was so warped and out of control, because what else could they do?

David couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has been my NEMESIS. I really hated writing it, I don't know why. maybe it's because it comes after a super emotion-heavy chapter, I don't know. I also had no idea where to cut this, but I thought if I included the next part (which I think will be the aftermath of neil's meeting with icihirou) then it would get too long.
> 
> jack's corner!  
> I didn't think I'd have any updates for you today because I won't be seeing jack until tomorrow and he's been working lates all week so I didn't know if he'd had much chance to read, but it's like he KNEW because this morning we had the following text conversation:  
> jack - oh no Riko knows about Neil :O  
> me - oh no!  
> jack - I know and Kevin it's all gone to shit or at least Neil's plans have  
> me - uh oh, poor neil  
> jack - yeah but at least Wymack and Matt are just stand up guys  
> me - aren't they just  
> jack - yeah definitely my favourites
> 
> guys. I just... <3


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's chapter brought to you by: PROCRASTINATION
> 
> the closer I get to the end, the harder these are to write. I'm a little sad, guys, ngl.
> 
> <3

David’s mind was on Neil for the majority of Monday morning. Classes had started up again, and as much as he wanted to, David was unable to shield Neil from the prying eyes and probing questions that Neil’s classmates would undoubtedly throw his way. He reminded himself that Neil had been through considerably more trying times than this, but it didn’t make him feel all that much better.

When the Foxes showed up for afternoon practice, Neil assembled everyone in the lounge because he had some news. David assumed Neil had finally heard from his uncle and was a little bit apprehensive, but Neil had a sort of nervous excited energy about him that seemed to imply the news had been good.

“Ichirou came to see me this morning,” Neil said when everyone was settled.

Gasps and questioning exclamations went up around the room, but David looked straight to Kevin, who looked hollow and distracted. Whatever Neil’s news was, Kevin already knew.

Neil got everyone to calm down again and continued. “Kevin, Jean and I are assets for the main family now. Once we graduate and go pro we’ll owe the Moriyama’s 80% of our earnings throughout our careers, but Riko can’t touch us now. He’d be crossing his brother if he did.” Neil cut a glance to Kevin. “He doesn’t have a claim to us anymore. We’re not his.”

Neil looked up at everyone else and smiled. “Of course, if I don’t make the cut after graduation, I’ll be executed. But that’s irrelevant, because I _will_.”

“Hell yes you will,” Dan said with a delighted grin, and just like that, almost everyone exploded into jubilant cheers. David exchanged a glance with Abby and saw the relief he felt echoed in her face. For the first time in over a week, David could breathe a little easier.

Neil’s news was a rejuvenating motivator for most of the team when they began practice even though Neil couldn’t yet join them on the court, but Kevin’s mind was evidently elsewhere. He fumbled easy shots, looked heavy on his feet, and didn’t say a word to anyone; a far cry from the Kevin everyone was accustomed to during Exy practice. David recognised that Kevin was going to struggle to readjust to his entire world shifting sideways, and when Dan opened her mouth to say something, David shushed her then shook his head vehemently when she caught his eye. Dan looked frustrated but let it go.

After he'd dismissed practice, David found himself wondering if this was something he needed to try and comfort Kevin about, as his father and not as his coach. But he didn't even know where he'd even start, and the news was still so raw that he thought Kevin might find it overwhelming if David tried to reach out. Baby steps, he reasoned.

The next day, Kevin was the same Kevin everyone had come to know and tolerate on the court, back to fighting form and harsh words when he thought his teammates weren’t pulling their weight. Everyone, David included, was too relieved to get annoyed, and they found themselves buoyed and determined for their upcoming match. Neil practically brimmed with frustration at being unable to play from his spot watching next to David, but he made no complaints.

On Wednesday, all of the Foxes were subjected to a press conference. Neil was obviously the focus, but questions were put to everybody, Abby and David included. Neil had taken Allison’s advice to be as forthright as possible, but even David had to choke down his own anger when some of the questions turned particularly nasty. Neil handled these ones by bluntly reminding reporters that there was only so much he could say as the investigation into his father’s businesses was ongoing. After a few more attempts they got the hint and moved on.

As Neil was still sporting several bandages, he was asked after his injuries and confirmed to the press that he’d be out of Friday’s match.

“My teammates will pave the way for us on Friday, and I’ll be back on the court for semi-finals,” he assured the press, and it was this familiar, unwavering belief Neil had in his team that finally seemed to remind the assembled media that the attitude they had come to expect from the mouthy rookie wasn’t an act.

David was the last in the line and got the last question, an ill-advised, “Do you have any doubts about having Neil on your team now that you know the truth?” to which David responded with a curt and emphatic, “No.” His expression must have said enough, because the reporter shifted uncomfortably and asked no further questions.

With that over and done with, the Foxes were left to continue their afternoon scrimmage.

Neil sat down on the bench just behind David to watch, and David peered over his shoulder at him. “That was pretty intense,” he said. “You okay?”

Neil set his jaw determinedly and met David’s eyeline. “Yes, Coach.”

David nodded once. “Good.”

* * *

 

With Neil unable to play, David had to tweak Friday’s line-up to make it workable. Dan would be filling in for Neil, Renee — trooper that she was — would be subbing on and off for the backliners, and Andrew would once again hold the goal for the entire game.

The Bearcats swaggered in like they had already won, brimming with overconfidence and a shitty attitude. Within a minute of first serve, David could tell it was going to be a violent game, and the Foxes biggest challenge to date. The Bearcats kept going for borderline illegal checks and tackles, and David soon realised that they were trying to eliminate another of the Foxes, either through a red card or injury. The Bearcats had plenty of subs to cycle through; the Foxes didn’t. They couldn’t afford to lose another player.

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ, those slimy fucking bastards,” David said murderously from the sidelines as Allison caught a hip to the side and went sprawling to the ground. Abby retrieved her first-aid kit with a resigned expression while Nicky paced up and down yelling furious insults. Neil was tense next to David and not even Renee’s usual calming presence was enough to take the edge off; she , too, radiated quiet fury.

By half-time, two of the Bearcats had been sent off with red-cards, but the Foxes had swallowed their pride and given ground where they’d had to, determined not to let themselves be goaded into starting fights and losing a player. David took one look at their muted anger and gave a somewhat more mellow half-time speech than he normally would have, not wanting to set any of them off. The tension was so high it could snap any moment.

No one even looked at him while he was talking, but he rounded off his speech, as he always did, with, “Anyone else have something to say?”

He looked, as ever, to Dan, and she didn’t let him down.

“We’re halfway there,” she said, rapping the butt of her racquet on the floor for emphasis. “Let’s wipe the floor with these assholes and then get wasted.” She turned an entreating look on her teammates. “Tell me someone has alcohol back at the dorm. ABC will be closed by the time the game is over and I’m down to half a case of beer.”

“Not enough to make up for this,” Nicky said apologetically. “We went through most of it Monday.”

“Something’s better than nothing, I guess,” Matt said.

“Katelyn has some. Between her and the Vixens we might get a decent haul,” Aaron said. He spoke offhand, not looking up from tightening his net, and from his tone you’d think it was a normal occurrence for Aaron to not only say something that wasn’t incredibly negative, but to imply he was willing to socialise with the upperclassmen outside of practice and matches.

David raised his eyebrows, but everyone else bar Neil darted confused glances between Aaron and Andrew.

Aaron lifted his gaze to Dan, ignoring everyone else's attention. “Unless you don’t want it?”

Dan replied, but she was looking at Andrew, as if gauging his reaction. “Uh, yeah. Sure. If they’ve got some to share, the more the merrier. Right?” She sounded confused more than anything, clearly expecting some kind of negative reaction from Andrew, who remained utterly impassive. The rest of them may as well not have existed.

“I’ll get a headcount when we’re back down there. We can borrow the basement study room again,” Aaron said.

“Uh,” Matt started.

“Don’t,” Neil interrupted, and it was this more than anything that let David know there had been a fundamental shift between the twins. And if it meant his team were going to be spending less time cut down the middle, then it was a change David approved of.

Nicky looked about ready to say something inadvisable to either Aaron or Andrew, but luckily the warning bell went off and David got the Foxes up and moving.

“Up and out. We’ve got a team to send home crying. You can gossip on your own time.”

The violence didn’t let up in the second half, but the Foxes were uplifted after half time and handled it with grace and professionalism. Aaron in particular played with more fire and enthusiasm than David had ever know him to offer, and eventually the Foxes came out on top, seven-five.

David let Neil and the subs file on and watched his team celebrate with a fierce grin on his face. Their performance tonight was a giant Fuck You to everyone who had ever doubted that the Foxes could be taken seriously as a Class I Exy team, and in two weeks they’d be facing off against two of the Big Three.

After the teams had left the court, David went into the foyer to hide from the press; Kevin had let him know that he’d be revealing to the reporters he spoke to after the match that David was his father, and David wanted to wait until the initial buzz died down before someone managed to get a microphone in his face. Hopefully that wouldn’t be until the next match.

The Foxes not on press duty trickled out to join him, everyone excitable and energised after a win, no doubt helped along by the fact they all knew they had a victory party to be getting to. The noise petered out when Neil walked in sans Kevin and Andrew, and Dan motioned towards the changing room.

“What happened?” she asked.

Neil held up a hand and started counting it down on his fingers. “Kevin told them Coach is his father, said he’s never going back to Edgar Allan, and called the Ravens out as two-faced assholes. Oh, and he said his injury wasn’t an accident. Not in so many words, but it won’t take them long to figure out what he meant.”

“He what?” Dan exclaimed.

“Great,” David said with a sigh. “He’s turning into another you. That’s just what I needed.” But honestly, he couldn’t find it in him to be mad — he was too proud.

“At least you can legally take out life insurance on one of them,” Nicky said.

David arched an eyebrow, but he couldn’t help but be a little amused. Apparently they were making jokes about it now; it was sort of a relief. But David had a gruff reputation to uphold, and he pointed towards the changing rooms. “Out. Everyone out. Get washed up before your stench kills me.”

David, Abby and Neil went to the lounge to wait on the rest of the team, and David turned on the TV to see what was being made of Kevin’s post-game interview. One particular snooty looking sportscaster — clearly a Ravens fan — called Kevin’s comments, “sour grapes and sensationalism,” but another brought up how easily Edgar Allan had let Kevin go and just how long Kevin had stayed out of the limelight after his supposed accident. Another sportscaster stood on neutral ground but mentioned Kathy Ferdinand’s show back in August and suggested they now had an explanation for Neil’s surprising antaganism towards Riko and staunch defense of Kevin.

It was a pretty balanced set of opinions so far. There were always going to be some who suggested Kevin’s big reveal was a media stunt; that couldn’t be avoided. But at least people were starting to remove their rose-tinted glasses when it came to the Ravens.

David turned off the TV when the rest of the Foxes started to show up after their showers, and waited until they were all seated and attentive.

“Going to make this quick,” he said. “You’ve got a well deserved party to get to. We’ll go over the nitty-gritty and ugly details Monday morning as usual. This wasn’t the cleanest game you’ve played but it was by far the most mature. You did what you had to do and you came out on top.”

He paused, then shot them a fierce grin. “Also: welcome to the semifinals. It’s you, USC, and Edgar Allan. You’re toe-to-toe with what’s left of the Big Three.” Dan’s face fell a little and David shook his head at her. “No, don’t make that face. Don’t be afraid. Be rowdy. Be proud. No one thought you could get this far — no one except the people seated in this room. You’ve earned this.” He stressed this point with a clenched fist and an earnest look at his Foxes, at his kids. Then he jerked his head towards the exit. “Now get out and get trashed.”

“Carefully,” Abby added. “Off the road, out of sight, out of trouble. Okay?”

“Yes, Mom,” Nicky said.

“We won’t leave the dorm,” Dan said reassuringly, and with that they all filed out and into the night.

Abby glanced at David and smiled. “Happy?” she asked.

“Happy,” David said with a nod. He draped a loose arm around Abby and steered her towards the carpark. “What do you reckon, should _we_ go and get drunk and celebrate?”

“I can’t,” Abby said with an apologetic little laugh. “I need to go and check on Jean.”

“Oh yeah,” David said. “I almost forgot about Jean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jack's corner!  
> he finally finished TRK earlier tonight (I know, he's reading slow) so here's some assorted thoughts:  
> \- he thought it was funny that neil's first reaction to finding out andrew was gay was, "ohhh, so andrew and kevin..."  
> \- he still thinks that kevin and neil are secretly in love with each other.  
> \- "kevin has such an exy boner for both andrew and neil."  
> \- "POOR ANDREW!!!"  
> \- he said the only person he could see andrew potentially becoming romantically involved with is neil, but he is also pretty convinced that neil isn't going to survive the books. "I really hope he does, but I can't see it happening."  
> \- "I like how everyone's becoming friends except aaron."  
> \- "neil loves fighting riko, haha."  
> \- "wymack's my fave." "I thought matt was your fave?" "he is. they're both my faves. I can have more than one fave, emma, I'm a grown ass man."  
> \- (when neil's just about to go to evermore) "I think neil is going to make riko nice." "....how?" "just by being the great guy he is."  
> \- "POOR NEIL!"


	23. Chapter 23

On Saturday morning, David was at the stadium, sitting in the lounge and flipping through the sports channels to get a better idea of what the press were making of Kevin’s comments in the light of a new day. The Ravens had denied everything, naturally. A lot of the individual Raven players probably didn’t even believe that Riko breaking Kevin’s hand was even true — none of them had witnessed the incident except for Jean. And Jean was currently unreachable, hiding and healing in Abby’s guest room. The press had no idea where he was.

Brisk footsteps heading his way alerted David’s attention, and he turned his head to see a young woman approaching. “Can I help. . . you?” he asked, trailing a little when she got closer and he realised who she was. Theodora Muldani, backliner for the Houston Sirens and the US Court, Edgar Allan alumni and Kevin’s girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. What does it mean when someone gets their hand broken, takes refuge on another team and cuts off all contact with everyone else? It was complicated. David was gonna go with that.

There were few who had known about Kevin and Thea’s relationship. David was one, Andrew was another. David assumed that Renee and Neil also knew. The whole thing had been very hush-hush.

Thea fixed David with a stony stare, and David found himself a little glad she was no longer on the Ravens line-up. She was as intimidating off court as she was on it.

“Is it true?” she asked sternly. “What Kevin said about his hand. Is it true?”

David frowned. “Do you really think he’d lie about that?”

Thea shook her head, frustration and anger and hurt warred for dominance on her face. David abruptly felt sorry for her; it couldn’t have been easy having someone you cared about suddenly shut you out without warning or explanation. “I need you to take me to see him,” she said.

David hesitated; Kevin had a lot going on right now and David didn’t necessarily want to deliver something else right to his door. But Kevin had also been the one who had revealed that his hand wasn’t an accident and that David was his father to the press, knowing full well there would be repercussions he’d have to deal with. He may as well face them sooner rather than later.

“Hold on,” David told Thea. “I’ll just call to make sure he’s at the dorms.”

As it was still the morning and there had been no practice, the odds were good that Kevin was either still asleep, or was poring his way through internet articles checking the fallout from his comments. Either way, he was unlikely to answer his phone. Nicky was the safest bet, and so David pulled up his number.

“Morning, Coach!” Nicky said brightly when he picked up.

“You sound alarmingly chipper,” David said. “Thought you’d be hungover.”

“I have had several cups of coffee. Aaron and Neil are trading rooms right now so it’s all go-go-go down here. What’s up?”

“They’re _what?_ " That had to be a joke, and David didn't have the time. "You know what, never mind. I was just checking that everyone was at the Tower still?”

“Yeah, Coach. Everyone’s milling around.”

“Okay. I’ll be over in a few.” He hung up and motioned to Thea. “Let’s go.”

Thea had hired a rental from the airport and so she followed David’s car over to Fox Tower so he could let her into the building. David didn’t say anything as they took the elevator up, but Thea was lined with tension. Kevin had a storm heading his way.

When the doors pinged and they stepped out, the door to both Kevin’s and Matt’s suites were open, and David just spotted Aaron disappearing in through Matt’s door with a box in his hands. So what Nicky had said _was_ true, then. Interesting.

He led Thea down the hall and rapped a knuckle against the doorframe of Kevin’s suite. Kevin, sitting on a beanbag chair in front of the TV, scouring his laptop, didn’t look up. But Neil, who had been sorting textbooks on a newly claimed desk, did. He looked from David to Thea.

“Kevin,” he said.

Kevin, predictably, ignored him.

“Kevin,” Neil said again, a little more urgently, but Thea had already had enough and barged past David, crossing the room in a few strides and seizing Kevin’s laptop, throwing it off to the side.

Now she had his attention, and the anger on his face disappeared as soon as he realised who it was. He let her manhandle his left hand around so she could get a good look at his scars, and then she glared at Neil. “Get out,” she said.

Andrew materialised in the bedroom doorway, hearing the commotion, but he made no move to intervene, knowing who Thea was. She turned her icy stare on Andrew. “You get out, too.”

“Thea,” Kevin said, finally finding his voice and standing up. “What are you doing here?”

“They’ll leave or I will. I won’t talk to you in mixed company."

“We are mixed company regardless. I am not a Raven anymore.”

David felt a little swell of pride at Kevin’s words. How far he'd come. Thea, on the other hand, was unimpressed.

“I will count to three. One.”

“Stop it. Just talk to me.”

“Now you want to talk,” Thea scoffed. “Two.”

“I always wanted to talk, but it was complicated,” Kevin said lamely, and David winced at his son’s poor choice of words. This wouldn’t go down well.

“’Complicated’,” Thea repeated, crooking her fingers in mocking air-quotes as she stared at Kevin angrily. “’Complicated’ is having to find out from a press conference that you broke your hand and left the line-up. ‘Complicated’ is finding out the hard way you disconnected your old number and having to hear from Jean that you didn’t want anything to do with any of us effective immediately. Don’t you dare use ‘complicated’ on me. I deserve better than that. Three.”

Countdown over, Thea made to leave, but Kevin caught her by her wrist. “Jean. If you’re going to believe me, you need to see Jean first.”

“What’s left of him anyway,” David added wryly, earning himself his own glare from Thea. But he looked to Kevin. “I came so I could get her into the dorm, but she picked up a rental car at the airport. Catch a ride to Abby’s with her so I can figure out what the hell is going on around here.”

He stepped aside so Thea and Kevin could get past and watched until they had disappeared into the elevator, before turning his attention back to the suite. Aaron and Neil had made a real mess of the place, haphazard piles of various belongings strewn about as they orchestrated the move.

David arched an eyebrow at Andrew. “I called Nicky before coming over to make sure you were here. When he told me what Neil and Aaron were doing I thought he was fucking with me.” Andrew stared back impassively, not bothering to respond as David hadn’t asked a question. “Dorm room applications are due in a few weeks. With nine men and six women on the line it’s easiest for us to get five rooms of three. I’d prepared a speech to talk you into it, but I guess I wasted my time. I assume Nicky’s the next-best person to take away from you?”

“You assume he’ll survive until summer,” Andrew said dryly.

“You break him, you owe me a new defenseman,” David said.

“You have one at Abby’s house.”

David shook his head immediately, having already had this discussion with Kevin. “Jean won’t stay next year. I already suggested it, but he and Kevin know they can never play together again. There’s too much between them, good and bad and ugly, for them to ever make things right. We’ll figure out what to do with him eventually.” As if David didn’t already have enough on his plate. But Kevin had promised to help, at least.

“You don’t think Kevin will tell Thea the whole truth, do you?” Neil asked.

“Unlikely. We’ve got a lot of eyes on us now and most of them aren’t friendly. I don’t think he’ll put her at risk like that.”

Neil accepted that in silence, and after a moment, David started to go before he remembered something and turned back. “Oh, that reminds me.” He dug through his pocket until he found spare keys to the court, and he tossed them to the floor in front of Andrew’s feet, knowing he wouldn’t reach for them. “Kevin said to give you those.”

He left before anyone said or did anything, figuring Andrew was more likely to pick them up without an audience (Neil probably didn’t count). In the car on the way back to the stadium, David replayed the conversation he’d had with Kevin the previous afternoon before the game:

_“Hey, Coach, do me a favour and give Andrew a set of keys to the court?”_

_David raised an eyebrow. “I thought he didn’t care enough to deserve them. Why the change of heart?”_

_Kevin shrugged, but there was a smile on his face and fire in his eyes. “Let’s just say he’s earned it.”_

It had been high praise indeed from Kevin Day.

* * *

 

In the run-up to the Foxes match against the Trojans, Kevin told David that he planned on asking the Trojans’ captain, Jeremy Knox, if they had room on next years’ line-up for Jean. David agreed wholeheartedly with the plan — not to mention it was sort of one of the only options they had if they actually wanted to help Jean. The Trojans were about as different from the Ravens as they could get, and Kevin had an in with Jeremy.

It still didn’t necessarily mean he’d be able to help, but it was worth a shot, and it was nice to see Kevin stepping up for his former teammate and doing something proactive. David’s Foxes were impressing him left, right and centre at the moment. It was a good feeling.

Game day finally arrived, and David got the Foxes to the Trojans’ stadium with plenty of time to spare, meaning they had to wait a little while before security even let them in. His team were jittery, and with good reason — the Trojans would be no picnic — but they were also ready and willing to go out there and give it everything they had. Once they were finally allowed in, Kevin alone looked calm and contented, happy to be back on Trojan territory. If his teammates found it annoying, they refrained from saying anything.

As the time to first-serve dwindled away, David still hadn’t been given a copy of the Trojan line-up, and although a member of USC staff promised she’d try and track one down, she never returned with one.

They were still none the wiser when they entered inner court thirty minutes before first serve, but a moment later, a kitted out Jeremy Knox sans helmet and gloves made his way over to the Foxes. David was standing closest to him, so Jeremy greeted him first, although David had already heard Kevin get to his feet and head over to meet Jeremy.

Jeremy held his hand out and David shook it. “Coach Wymack, welcome to SoCal. We’re excited to host you tonight,” he said, friendly professionalism. Then he caught sight of Kevin over David’s shoulder and his polite smile melted into a cheery grin. “Kevin, you crazy fool,” he said, clapping Kevin’s shoulder. “You never cease to amaze. You’ve got a thing for controversial teams, I think, but I like this one better than the last one.”

David took that as the compliment it was, but of course Kevin had to half-ruin it, saying, “They’re mediocre at best but they’re easier to get along with.”

Jeremy shook his head, but there was a fond smile on his face. “Same old Kevin, as unforgiving and obnoxious as always. Some things never change, hm? Some things do.” His smile fell away and he looked at Kevin seriously, lowering his tone ever so slightly. “Speaking of your last team, you, uh, you created quite a stir with that thing you said two weeks ago. About your hand, I mean, and it maybe not being an accident.”

David watched Kevin’s face carefully, wondering how much Kevin was prepared to say. His expression gave away nothing, and after a moment, he said, “I have a backliner for you. Do you have room on next year’s line-up?”

Kevin led Jeremy away where they wouldn’t be overheard, and what followed seemed to be an intense discussion. It didn’t look to be overly successful at first, but at the tail end, Kevin smiled — a rare and true Kevin smile, not a public face Kevin Day smile — and Jeremy squeezed his shoulder.

They headed back over and Jeremy handed David a folded up piece of paper. David unfolded it, scanned the contents, and frowned. It was a list of USC players, but there was only nine of them. David didn’t understand.

“Our line-up,” Jeremy explained. “It’s late to be getting it to you, I know, but we were trying to avoid as much of a backlash as possible.

“Backlash?” Dan asked, and David handed her the paper before turning to Jeremy.

“Your pity’s a little misplaced. Tell Coach Rhemann we don’t want handouts,” he said, annoyed at his team being pandered to. They had earned their place here and deserved their opponent's respect.

Jeremy shook his head. “This isn’t pity. We’re doing this for us, not you. Your success this year has us rethinking everything about how we play. Are we second because we’re talented or because we have twenty-eight people on our line-up? Are we good enough as individuals to stand against you? We have to know.”

It was hard to doubt Jeremy’s words when he was so damn sincere. Kevin, catching up, snatched the paper from Dan and Matt leaned over his shoulder to get a look.

“You’re joking. You’re joking,” Matt said, with a disbelieving look at Jeremy. “You’re not?” Allison yanked impatiently on his sleeve and Matt explained. “There are only nine names on it.”

“Two goalies, three backliners, two dealers, two strikers. You’ve made it this far with those numbers. It’s time to see how we’d fare in that situation,” said Jeremy, before breaking out into an infectious grin. “I’m excited. None of us have ever played a full game before. Hell, most of don’t even play full halves anymore. We don’t have to because the numbers are always in our favour.”

“And you called me a crazy fool. You’ll lose tonight if you play like this,” Kevin said. He was right — it had taken weeks and weeks for the Foxes to get their stamina where it needed to be. The Trojans couldn’t match training like that in one game.

“Maybe,” Jeremy said with a shrug. “Maybe not. Should be fun either way, right? I don’t remember the last time I was this psyched for a game. Look at this.” He held out his shaking hands to the Foxes and laughed. “Bring it, Foxes, and we’ll bring it too.”

They all watched him go, frozen in shock for a moment, before Nicky broke the silence with what David was sure everyone was thinking.

“I have a new favourite team.”

* * *

 

Despite opening strong and heading into half time with a three point lead, David knew that the Trojans were doomed. They had already started to slow down, and despite how hard the Foxes had to work for it, they always had something left in the tank for the last quarter of a game. It was ingrained after having to play matches this way all season. The Trojans just weren’t used to it, and sure enough the Foxes finally netted a convincing victory, 13-9.

The Trojans took it their stride and in great spirits, despite their disappointed and angry fans. David was impressed, but he knew full well that the Trojans — already a force to be reckoned with — were going to be damn near unbeatable the following season if they kept this up.

The following week, as expected, the Trojans were beaten narrowly by the Ravens, confirming the final as a Foxes and Ravens rematch. Jeremy handled his post-match interview with class as always, refusing to badmouth the Ravens like Neil would have done almost immediately. David wondered what it would be like to have someone like Jeremy on your team, who you weren’t worried would incite riots every time he opened his mouth. David could dream.

Not that Jeremy’s interview wasn’t without controversy, of course, because he announced to the press what David and the Foxes already knew, that Jean had signed a contract with the Trojans for his senior year and would be leaving the Ravens.

Everything, so far, was lining up nicely. The Trojans losing both their semifinal games back to back meant the third semifinal was now irrelevant and was canceled, freeing up a week without a game before the final.

The rest was welcomed, but there was still a story-hungry press to deal with. Jean was currently the big story, but the press still had no idea where he was. Jean was moving a little easier now, no longer confined to bed all day, eating his meals with Abby in the kitchen instead of in the guest room alone. The stitches had been removed from his face and his hair was starting to grow back in the spots it had been ripped out from. He still looked like he’d been through the ringer though, and didn’t have that much to say. Abby told David that Kevin stopped by most days to see him, which was nice. David wondered if they said much to each other, but he supposed theirs was a complicated history and the fact that they could even stand to be in the same room together was somewhat of a miracle.

It was a surprise to absolutely no one that it was revealed the final would take place at Castle Evermore, but it didn’t make the news any easier to take. The Foxhole Court was just too small to host an event this big. David was especially worried about Neil and Kevin, who both had horrible memories of Evermore, but they accepted it with grim nods; they still had jobs to do.

The Foxes were allotted eighteen seats in a ‘Friends and Family’ section, but David was dubious that all of them would get filled. Sure enough, when he passed around the clipboard, none of Andrew’s lot needed any, nor Allison, Renee only needed one and gave the other to Matt so his father’s current squeeze to come, and Dan took the clipboard last to see how many she could snag for her old stage sisters. But there were _still_ extras left over.

David took the clipboard back after and reserved one seat for Betsy, and another one for Erik Klose, Nicky’s boyfriend, who had emailed David and said he was flying over from Germany for the occasion. Nicky was going to freak — he had no idea.

The Foxes continued to practice with grim determination in the two weeks before the final, and Dan told David that everyone was now going to night time practice with Kevin and Neil. Everyone was bringing their A game, everyone was stressed, but everyone was getting on with it. The Foxes felt cohesive, like a true team, and David was immeasurably proud of all of them, no matter what happened at the final.

Of course, he really wanted them to _win_ , too.

Early in the week, Kevin came to see David after practice. Surprisingly enough, he asked where David had his tattoos done.

“An old buddy of mine did them, Johnny. He runs a place downtown.” David narrowed his brows. “Why?”

Kevin idly ran a thumb over the number two on his cheek. “Can you call him for me? See if he can fit me in before Friday? I want to get this covered over.”

“No shit,” David said, stunned. “Are you shitting me?”

“No,” Kevin said, a little irritated. “I want it gone.”

“Alright,” David said placatingly, as Kevin had obviously had to muster up a certain amount of courage to even get this far; David didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and spook him. “Do you know what you want to go over it?”

Kevin nodded, then looked at his feet. “A chess piece,” he said. “Queen.”

David smiled fiercely. “I’ll give Johnny a call and see what he can do,” he said.

“Okay,” Kevin said. “Thanks.” Then he disappeared again.

When David made the call, Johnny rearranged a few things and managed to fit Kevin in on Thursday night. Kevin paled when David told him, but he kept his nerve, and left night practice in Neil’s hands on Thursday. David picked him up from Fox Tower and took him downtown.

David had the forethought to bring a bottle of vodka with him, but when they parked up outside the tattoo studio and Kevin reached for it, David yanked it out of his hands.

“This,” he said, holding the bottle up for emphasis, “is for _after_. You have to be sober for this.”

Kevin made another valiant grab but David held the vodka out of reach. “Just a little bit!” he insisted.

“Kevin, come _on_ now. No. As soon as it’s over I’ll hand you the bottle and you can go to fucking town on it. But you don’t get a drop beforehand. Got it?”

Kevin sighed in exasperation, but David noticed his shaking hands. This was all nerves. “Fine. Let’s just do this, then,” he said, and got out of the car.

Kevin sat stock still through the whole thing, eyes shut. He hummed a tune under his breath that sounded like an old Irish song that David remembered Kayleigh singing sometimes, a long, long time ago. It made David’s heart ache somehow. Kevin had lost so much.

David leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, Kevin’s reward vodka dangling from one of his hands. He spoke to Johnny so Kevin didn’t have to, but his eyes never left Kevin’s face.

As soon as the tattoo was finished, Johnny wiped it down and passed Kevin a mirror. It took Kevin a minute to actually pluck up the courage to look, so David looked his fill. It was unbelievably satisfying to look at Kevin and not see his face marred by a number '2', a cruel and mocking debasement of Kevin's ability, fortitude and character. But it was gone now, something else in it's place, representing something new. David nodded at Kevin encouragingly, and Kevin finally looked at his reflection. A small smile appeared on his face.

“It’s perfect. Thank you,” he said to Johnny, then reached out expectantly towards David, who rolled his eyes and deposited the vodka bottle into Kevin’s waiting hand.

With no preamble, Kevin unscrewed the lid and started gulping down vodka, right there in the middle of a tattoo studio.

“Holy shit, he can really knock it back,” Johnny said, then he shot David a wry grin. “He’s definitely your kid, huh?”

David smiled. “He definitely is,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jack's corner!  
> he's about halfway through I think, almost to the binghamton game and the baltimore scenes (ahhhh!). and he had had a bunch of things to say but honestly there is only one I can remember right now because it was so goddamn funny:  
> \- "oh my god, andrew and neil SMOOCHED!"  
> honestly, who uses the word 'smooched'? honestly. what a gigantic nerd.
> 
> also, holy shit, but I think there's only going to be one more main chapter of this, and then just an epilogue after to tie it all up. so close to the end!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a little while, I hope it's been worth the wait, eek! the final part which will just be a short epilogue will go up TOMORROW and then this fic will be done :'(

Abby had the bus running and waiting in the Foxhole Court carpark as the Foxes parked up and piled onboard, ready for the trip to Castle Evermore. David sat in the row behind the drivers’ seat; he would drive the return journey. The upperclassmen arrived first and took their usual seats, a quiet apprehension in the air. Dan looked nervous but determined, and David gave her an encouraging nod as she passed him by to her seat.

Kevin was the last on the bus, and Allison was the first to notice his new ink.

“What the fuck is that?” she asked, then a slow grin spread across her face. “Kevin, what the fuck is on your face?”

Her voice had gained the attention of the rest of the upperclassmen by now — all of Andrew’s lot had presumably seen it already — and Matt gasped audibly.

“Holy shit,” he said, almost reverently. “You did it. You really did it.”

“What is that, a chess piece?” Dan asked.

“It’s a queen,” Renee said with a smile.

“Welcome aboard, your majesty,” Allison said with a flourished bow as Kevin made his way down the aisle, but she sounded too impressed to be fully teasing. The bus erupted into cheers, largely led by Nicky and Matt, and David heard Aaron say, “It was about fucking time.” Kevin accepted all the attention with a brief, sharp smile and then sat down in the row in front of Neil, his old seat in front of Andrew now usurped by Neil.

Seeing Kevin’s new tattoo seemed to take some of the edge of the Foxes’ nerves, and was a definite morale booster. David let their excited chatter lull him into a nap, conserving his energy for the drive home after the game was over.

He woke up again with plenty of time to spare and spent the rest of the ride mentally composing a pre-game speech Abby had threatened him to give. David’s speeches tended to be better off the cuff, but Abby was right — this game was important and after everything the Foxes had been through to get to this point, they deserved something with a little more forethought.

When they finally arrived at Evermore, they had to wait until security guards had come to escort them. The Vixens had got there just before the Foxes, and they all milled about the asphalt in quiet contemplation, Aaron hand in hand with his cheerleader, Katelyn.

David kept cutting glances to Kevin, looking for any cracks in his armor, any doubts or regrets over the very permanent message he would be sending to Riko once he saw Kevin’s new tattoo. But Kevin stared steely eyed up at the stadium like it was just another obstacle in his way to victory, one that could be quashed just as easily as any of the others. For once it seemed that Neil, standing at Kevin’s side, was taking strength from Kevin instead of the other way around.

Two attendants came to collect the Vixens, and shortly after that four security guards showed up to escort the Foxes into the stadium, another six standing by guarding the route. Cameras starting flashing as they made their way through and it didn’t take long for someone to spot Kevin’s tattoo, and shouts rang out through the crowd, some boos filtering through, but a few shouts of, “Queen!” as well. Kevin didn’t let any of it touch him.

The locker room was every bit as oppressive as Kevin had warned them it would be, and the Foxes were quick to scatter their brightly coloured duffel bags and jackets into every corner and around the room in an effort to break up the monotony of the black walls, and to make it seem less like the room was caving in on them. It helped a little, but as soon as the attendant who’d shown them to the locker room disappeared again, the Foxes hurriedly followed Dan out to the inner ring.

The crowd were overwhelmingly Ravens fans, but splashes of orange could still be seen here and there and they cheered excitedly when they caught sight of the Foxes. They were soon drowned out by Ravens fans, however, and David could barely hear himself think. He hoped his team could hold their nerve — they’d never been on enemy territory to such a degree before; it was heavily unsettling.

A distraction arrived at the best time, as Nicky went shooting off to the stands where the Foxes ‘Friends and Family’ seats were. A big, burly, blonde man leaned over the security railing and caught Nicky in a fierce hug; David hadn’t met him before but this could only be Erik Klose, Nicky’s boyfriend. Seconds later, more people filed into the stands behind him.

“Go on,” David said to his team. “Go say hi.” Most of the Foxes didn’t need telling twice; Allison trailed Dan over to the four of Dan’s stage sisters who’d been able to come, wearing dresses that spelled out FOX with a fox paw on the extra. Matt headed straight for his mother first, his father and mistress after, and Renee hurried to her foster mother. Aaron had no guests in the stands but went over to the Vixens so he could talk to Katelyn.

Betsy was the last in and although Andrew hadn’t been the one to invite her, David was pleased to see that as soon as he noticed her, Andrew went straight over to see her.

Neil and Kevin were the only ones who had made no move to go and see their supporters, and David tried to nudge them in the right direction. “You two could at least go and say hello.”

“There’s no point. All they are is a distraction,” Kevin said.

David tried not to roll his eyes at Kevin’s predictable scorn. “It’s called a support network. Look it up.”

“Thea is watching from South tonight,” Kevin said, glancing to the VIP box which was too far away to make out any faces, and then with visible effort he dragged his gaze back to David’s face, looking him in the eye as he continued, “and my father comes to all of my games. That is enough.”

Kevin wasn’t prone to bouts of sentimentality, and it took David a minute to work up a response. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. “Your mother would be proud of you,” he said. How unfair that Kayleigh wasn’t here to see the man Kevin had become. David could be proud for both of them.

“Not just of me,” Kevin said. Neil slipped silently away as David felt his eyes start to become alarmingly misty.

Abby gently put her hand on David’s arm, and David cleared his throat, clasping a hand to Kevin’s shoulder.

“Are you ready for this, Kevin?” he asked. Kevin surveyed the court and the stands and Castle Evermore with a disdainful look, and David knew the answer before Kevin even spoke.

“Yes,” he said.

“‘Atta boy.”

After a few more minutes socialising, David corralled his team back to the locker room to get changed out and ready for the game. They seemed buoyed after seeing friends and family but were still quiet; it was hard not to be when the sound of the crowd in the stands drowned everything else out. David let them mentally prepare in their own way, eager not to hover and inadvertently add pressure to an already tense situation.

After warming up, David sent Dan onto the court for the coin toss with a murmured, “You’ve got this, kiddo,” and she won first serve for the Foxes. When she got back, David had just a few minutes with his Foxes before game time, and he pulled them close — the last pre-game team huddle of the season.

He had to raise his voice to be heard over the crowd, but the eyes of all the Foxes were on him, ready and waiting.

“I suck at this pep talk thing, but Abby threatened me with gruesome death if I didn’t make some sort of effort tonight. This is what I’ve come up with after an hour of hard brainstorming. I haven’t rehearsed it yet, so you’ll have to pretend it’s something polished and encouraging. Deal?”

He looked around the circle, catching and holding the gaze of each and every one of his team.

“I want you to close your eyes and think about why you’re here tonight. Don’t tell me ‘revenge’ because you’ve already got it just by being here tonight. This isn’t about Riko anymore. This isn’t about the Ravens. This is about you. This is about everything it took you to get to this point, everything it cost you, and everyone who laughed when you dared to dream of something big and bright. You’re here tonight because you refused to give up and refused to give in. You’re here where they all said you’d never be, and no one can say you haven’t earned the right to play this game.”

David paused briefly, letting his words settle, eying the Foxes shrewdly. Dan’s jaw was set in pure determination, eyes bright and shining.

“All eyes are on you,” David continued. “It’s time to show them what you’re made of. There’s no room for doubt, no room for second guesses, no room for error. This is your night. This is your game. This is your moment. Seize it with everything you’ve got. Pull out all the stops and lay it all on the line. Fight because you don’t know how to die quietly. Win because you don’t know how to lose. This king’s ruled long enough — it’s time to tear his castle down.”

As if on cue, the warning bell sounded overhead, and David clapped his hands. “Let’s go!”

“Foxes!” the team roared back, and the starting line-up headed to the door. Abby sidled up to David’s side.

“Nice speech,” she said, nudging him in the arm.

David flashed her a quick smile. “It wasn’t bad, was it?” he said, and then turned his attention back to the court where his players were taking their places.

Game time.

* * *

 

David knew it was going to be tough; how could it _not_ be, this was the Ravens after all. But this was also the Foxes as the Ravens had never seen them before, an entirely different animal than the Ravens had faced seven months earlier.

The Foxes started strong as the two teams clashed, well within regulations to begin with but gradually growing more and more violent. The Ravens were angry, that much was clear. They had no Jean today; their team was undergoing internal investigations thanks to the allegations Kevin had alluded to, and their names had been dragged through the mud. It served them right, David thought, but it didn’t make today’s match any easier.

David glanced at Andrew, watching intently from the bench. He’d talked Renee into playing goalie for the first half so that he could watch how the Ravens played, and although she had wanted to be a backliner sub instead, she had reluctantly agreed, putting her trust in Andrew’s ability to hold the line in the second half. David trusted Andrew, too, but it didn’t make the first half easy to watch; Renee gave it her absolute all, but the Ravens’ striker line fired ball after ball at her, most of which hit home. The Foxes’ came off the court at half time sitting on an uncomfortable goal difference: seven—three.

Nicky was quickly ushered off to one side by Abby when he started dry-heaving from exhaustion and dehydration, and Renee simply said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Andrew said.

“Okay. Excuse me,” Renee replied, and headed off to the women’s changing room. David’s heart clenched uncomfortably — none of this was her fault, but he knew it wasn’t the time for comfort, and when Dan looked about to go after her, David shook his head.

“Leave her alone. She didn’t want to play goal tonight after how USC’s game went. We talked her into it. Andrew said he could control the score if she showed him how they played.”

“You should have had her step down. She’d’ve been more use as a fourth backliner. It’s not a good gap,” Aaron said, which may have been true but wasn’t at all helpful now.

“Whose fault is that?” Kevin asked.

“How are we supposed to stop them if they won’t carry the ball?” Nicky asked shakily, and rather than sounding affronted it seemed like he was after real suggestions. David didn’t have any answers.

“You have to drive them back. Keep them past the fourth-court line so they can’t take those quick shots. Force them to shoot further out and Andrew will have a better chance of deflecting them,” Kevin said.

“Great plan,” Aaron drawled, voice dripping scorn, “except they’re almost as fast as your mini-me is. Can’t push them if we can’t keep up with them.”

“Find a way,” was all Kevin had to say to that, and what else could they do?

Half-time was over too quickly, especially with how tired the majority of the Foxes were due to the harsh slog the first half had been. Just as he made his way onto court, Kevin tapped his racquet on the floor and passed it into his left hand, striding to the half-court line left handed with his head held high and uproarious cheers from the stands when the crowd noticed.

He’d told David the night before that he had been using his left hand in night practice, and so this wasn’t entirely a surprise to David. He trusted that Kevin knew his own capabilities and knew that Kevin was too Exy-minded to risk further injury — if his hand so much as twinged, David knew that Kevin would switch back.

That being said, seeing Kevin at Castle Evermore facing off against his old team — against _Riko_ , who had taken so much from Kevin — with his dominant hand yet again sent a fierce rush of pride up David’s spine. This was the culmination of months and months of hard work. Kevin wasn’t afraid anymore.

Within three minutes of the second half starting, Kevin scored, and five minutes later he scored again, narrowing the gap to just two points.

Andrew was stalwart and true in the goal, deflecting goal after goal like he’d promised he could when the Ravens inevitably rallied. Andrew was always good, even when he only put forth minimal effort, but David rarely saw him like this; playing with a purpose, as part of a team, for pride and for glory and just because he could. Kevin had been right — Andrew had _earned_ the right to those spare court keys.

When the score reached eight-six, the Ravens snapped, one of their players reacting to Kevin’s goal by punching him, and then continuing to punch him. It devolved into a riot, the teams faster to get involved than the referees. When it finally calmed down, the player who threw the first punch got kicked off with a red card, Kevin and Matt both given yellows.

Kevin scored his foul shot but the mood soured even further, with the Ravens’ violent tendencies turning to the backliners and Andrew instead. Abby watched with her first-aid kit clenched on her lap, an anxious look on her face. David felt for her — she was as helpless as he was in these moments; all she could do was patch the Foxes up after they’d already been hurt.

David found himself banging on the court walls in fury just a couple of minutes later when a Ravens striker, Williams, went after a ball it was clear Andrew would get to first, and instead of turning when Andrew cleared it, crashed into him full-speed. Andrew was crushed against the wall, the goal lighting up red as it registered his weight as a point. Andrew managed to push William’s off him, but stumbled away and then stopped, clearly winded.

Neil was there so fast David barely registered it, dropping his racquet and shoving Williams hard enough to make him fall to his knees. Matt got involved, pulling Neil back before he could do anything else and earn himself a red card.

As he wasn’t on the court, David couldn’t hear what was being said when one of the referees approached, but he thanked the stars for Matt, pushing Neil behind him and presumably preventing him from getting himself carded. Williams, for his part, got sent off with a red-card, but Coach Moriyama just used it as an excuse to make substitutions. Riko was coming back onto the court, as well as two other players, both of whom had fresh legs whilst the Foxes were running on fumes.

David tried to think of a way around it, but there wasn’t one; he couldn’t miraculously make his players less tired. David’s heart dropped into his stomach when he looked up and saw Matt heading over to the court door, a slight limp in his step. This couldn’t be happening.

He and Abby intercepted Matt at the door.

“What’s going on?” David asked.

“I need Abby to put a brace on my ankle,” Matt said apologetically. “But more importantly, I need you to sub in Dan for Neil, and Neil’s gonna sub for me.”

David froze for half a second. “Excuse me?”

Matt shrugged. “It was Andrew’s idea. He insisted. And hey, Neil used to _be_ a backliner, right? I can’t help Andrew properly right now.” He shook his ankle in emphasis. David peered past Matt at where Neil and Andrew stood, conferring in low voices. “Neil said he can keep Riko away from Andrew while I rest,” Matt added.

David officially had no better ideas, and the fact that this was Andrew’s idea was important somehow. Andrew didn’t often offer up game plans.

“Okay,” David finally said, and ushered Matt through the court doors where Abby sat him down and opened her first-aid kit. “Dan, you’re up,” he said, knowing Dan had been listening. She nodded fiercely and jogged onto the court. Soon after, play resumed.

Crazy plan it might have sounded, but it was _working_. No one was faster than Neil, and try as he might, Riko just couldn’t get past him. Again and again they clashed, and David could tell that Neil would be in a world of pain and bruises when the match was over, but right now he was on a mission, and Riko was becoming increasingly agitated.

Time dragged on until Kevin managed to equalise, and then a further ten minutes passed by without another goal. However, Berger got around an exhausted Aaron and made a quick shot on goal that Andrew wasn’t quite fast enough to deflect. The next time David got the opportunity, he brought Aaron and Allison off and sent Matt and Nicky on in their places.

The Foxes now had three backliners on the court and the difference was immediate; Riko and Berger couldn’t get close enough, having to take shots from further and further out. It was child's play for Andrew, deflecting them all with easy grace. Kevin finally tied the game up after scoring on a rebound, and there were mere _minutes_ left on the clock. David feared they were heading for a shootout, which would be a terrible outcome for the Foxes; they didn’t have enough strikers, they were too tired.

David had just been mentally preparing a pre-shootout pep talk when in the last minute of the game, Kevin scored, putting the Foxes in the lead for the first time in the entire game. David put his hands on his head, heart in his throat. He was far too aware of how many games had been won or lost in the closing seconds of a game.

_Just a few more seconds, just a few more. . ._

The final buzzer went off overhead, and it took all David had to remain standing. They had won; the Foxes had beaten the Ravens.

David’s kids had done it, like he always knew they could. And now everyone else knew it, too.

He exchanged a relieved, happy, and exhausted smile with Abby and the court doors opened, allowing Aaron, Allison and Renee to run on and join the celebration at the goal line, but not everyone was there yet. David scanned the court for his missing players.

Neil was on his knees, helmet tossed aside, looking dazed and utterly spent. Riko stood not far away, staring up at the scoreboard in complete disbelief. Neil said something, and Riko’s features contorted into something ugly and cruel and furious. He raised his racquet and lunged for Neil.

 _“No!”_ David shouted, or he thought he did, and he sprinted for the court door. Gasps and screams filtered through from those in the crowd who were paying attention, and it seemed to David as if everything was moving in slow motion, and yet he knew he’d never get there in time. Riko was too close to Neil, and Neil had no energy left to dodge. Riko was going to hit him with his racquet; crush his skull. It would kill him, of that there was no doubt.

But Andrew was there — of _course_ he was there — swinging his giant orange racquet down on Riko’s forearm with a sickening crunch, causing Riko to drop his own racquet instantly. He let out a bone-curdling scream and stumbled away, falling to his knees and clutching his now ruined arm closely to his chest. David stopped to catch his breath, to calm his racing heart as relief flooded through him. The other Foxes reached Neil first, crowding around him and checking he was alright.

David finally pushed himself forwards, managing to make his way to Neil who was currently the recipient of a half-relieved, half-triumphant hug from Dan. When she pulled back, Neil looked up at David.

“You alright, Neil?” David asked.

“I’m fine, Coach,” Neil said, then he smiled. “Why wouldn’t I be? We won.”

David huffed a laugh, deciding to let Neil’s standard _“I’m fine”_ response slide this time. “Yeah, we did.” He looked around at the rest of his team, Riko’s agonised screams providing a bizarre backdrop to the Foxes’ victory, but it was nevertheless a pleasing outcome.

“Congratulations, Foxes,” David said, pride punctuating every word. “You won.”

* * *

 

It was typical somehow, that despite the Foxes winning the championship, the victory ceremony had to be postponed for statements and interviews with the cops. Of course it should end this way — this was the Foxes, and nothing was ever straightforward. Nothing ever went according to plan.

“Look,” David found himself saying to a cop for what felt like the hundredth time, “you’ll have seen the tape by now. Riko was gunning for Neil. He would’ve smashed his fuckin’ skull in right in front of an entire stadium of spectators. Everyone saw, no question about it. Andrew defended him. Now, instead of a dead kid and a murder case on your hands, you’ve got an attempted murderer with a broken arm. Open and shut case from where I’m standing.”

The cops didn’t like David’s brusqueness all that much, but they couldn’t argue with cold hard facts, and nothing David had said was wrong. Police-work seemed to be a tedious and repetitive business, and David couldn’t wait to get the Foxes home again where they could celebrate properly.

The Vixens and the Foxes friends and families had been sent away hours earlier, despite wanting to stay together. They were going to meet the Foxes at their hotel as soon as they were allowed to leave.

Eventually they were allowed to shower and change, and David waited with Abby in the locker room for his team to reemerge so they could finally leave this godforsaken place.

Abby leaned her head against David’s shoulder. “I wonder what a quiet life would be like,” she mused out loud, and David snorted.

“There’ll be less drama next year,” he said, somewhat optimistically.

Abby crossed her fingers. “Here’s hoping,” she said.

The Foxes trickled back through to the locker room one or two at a time, looking dead on their feet, the incident with Riko and the following questioning from the cops having inevitably sucked some of the joy out of what should have been a night for celebrating. It was unfortunate, but David knew they’d feel better away from this place, in the light of a new day when they’d had some sleep. Of course, before that there would be a party back at the hotel, which would no doubt cheer everyone up in the mean time.

Soon enough, the only one they were waiting for was Neil, and when he finally showed up, he stopped in the doorway and looked around the room at his teammates, an uncharacteristically genuine smile on his face.

“What’s so funny?” Nicky asked.

“Life?” Neil offered, and his reappearance and cheerful demeanor brightened the Foxes’ spirits considerably. David nodded at Neil then turned his attention to his team at large.

“Let’s blow this joint. We’ve got a party to get to. Anyone who’s not on the bus in two minutes gets to stay here overnight.”

He was full of shit and his Foxes knew it, but they gathered up their stuff like they thought it was true anyhow and bustled out of the locker room in record time. Neil had stepped off to one side to let them all past, and when it was just Andrew and Neil left in there, David followed the rest of the Foxes down the corridor. Neil and Andrew would no doubt appreciate a minute or two alone, and David was more than happy to give it to them.

He caught up to Abby in the parking lot and draped an arm over her shoulder as they followed the team to the bus. She leaned into the contact and David grinned.

They would find out the following day from Neil — shortly before the news broke — about what had happened with Riko, and what the ‘official’ story would be; a story that the Foxes would happily go along with, happy to have Riko forever out of their lives. Kevin would struggle, but David would be there to offer his unorthodox support, and the Foxes would get the opportunity to show what they were made of in their own right, as a team moving forward.

That was in the future, though.

For now, David was full of unabashed pride and hope and love for his tiny team and everything they had accomplished. For Dan, who had faced negativity and bullshit with sheer determination and a smile on her face and captained her rag-tag team of misfits to an unprecedented victory in the face of overwhelming odds. For Allison who had lost Seth and yet never let grief swallow her whole; who had come out fighting less than a week after his death and had continued that fight in all the games to come. For Matt who had fought his own demons and won and never looked back. For Renee who had stepped out of her comfort zone time and time again and been the voice of reason and a calming influence on an otherwise volatile team, a presence David was immeasurably grateful for. For Nicky who had given up everything for a family who rarely if ever showed him any gratitude, but who put up with it all with a smile and took it upon himself to lighten the mood wherever he could. For Aaron and Andrew, who were slowly rebuilding their fractured relationship, and who were discovering new dreams and futures for themselves that they might not have thought possible just a short time ago.

For Kevin, who thought he had lost everything, but had since gained so much more. He had his confidence back, he was unquestionably the greatest striker in the game, and he’d just proved it to Riko at Castle Evermore in front of a swarm of Ravens fans. Kevin had gained a real team; David had gained a son.

Finally, for Neil, who had come to Palmetto a lie; a dead man walking, and who was now Class I Exy’s most improved freshman striker, future captain of the Foxes, a real person with a real name and a real home and a brand new found family who he would do anything for, and who would do anything for him.

“Palmetto State Foxes, NCAA champions,” David murmured into the night sky.

It had a nice ring to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jack's corner:
> 
> honestly this chapter has taken me so long that I thought he would have finished it by now, but life stuff has been happening and he didn't even pick it back up until yesterday. he's just finished all the baltimore scenes I think. he said he was wondering how neil was going to get away from nathan -- "I thought andrew and wymack were going to show up guns blazing somehow" -- bless. he also said, "at least nathan didn't get a chance to cut neil's tendons, so he can still play exy!" yes jack thank goodness for that.


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just the epilogue, I posted the last main chapter yesterday (30th may) so make sure you've read that BEFORE you read this :))

David always got jitters before the first game of the season. He hid it well, not wanting his team to notice, but they were always there. It was something about wanting to make a good start, to show all the other teams what the Foxes were made of straight out of the gate, to prove that they weren’t to be underestimated.

Granted, people rarely underestimated the Foxes anymore. But still, the nerves remained.

Tonight's opening match was at home against the Breckenridge Jackals, oddly reminiscent of Neil’s very first match as a Fox, which was apt because tonight was also Neil's very first game as captain.

The previous season had seemed long and arduous, a difficult adjustment period for David’s close knit team of nine to suddenly increase by six extra people. Six people who had followed the media story of Neil’s tumultuous freshman year and would never know what it had actually been like to live through it. Two of the new recruits in particular had made no secret of the fact they thought Neil didn’t deserve the vice-captaincy, and at times the rift became so bad that David feared Neil — who had always been willing to bridge the gap before — would retreat further into Andrew’s group. But Neil persevered, and proved his worth on the court time and time again. The offending freshmen were still dicks, but a few choice words from Kevin on how Neil was better than they’d ever be at least got them to stop going out of their way to make life difficult.

Riko's 'suicide' was a dark cloud that seemed to hover around the Exy world as a whole for a while, with particular focus towards the Foxes purely because Kevin's past was so intertwined with Riko's, and that the timing of his death was right after the Ravens vs. Foxes championship final. The Foxes just kept their heads down and tried to avoid answering questions about it whenever they were pressed about it.

Aaron’s trial had been another thing to endure — a difficult period of time that had dragged up a whole lot of ugly press that Andrew and Aaron had to suffer through. Media vultures had skulked around for weeks. But that, too, ended eventually, and enabled the Foxes to focus on Exy and the season again.

They hadn’t managed to hold onto the championship title, but they’d come pretty damn close, narrowly losing out to the Trojans in the final. Jean had flourished under the leadership of Coach Rhemann and Jeremy Knox, and the Trojans — always a force to be reckoned with — had upped their level even more. They were worthy winners.

Of course, after that, Dan, Allison and Renee had all graduated. This had taken David longer than he was willing to admit to get used to, once summer practices had resumed and the girls weren’t there. But it was part and parcel of coaching a college team; people had to move on eventually, and David was happy for them.

Renee had sent an apologetic email saying she wouldn’t be able to make it to the opening game, but that she’d be watching via a live feed. That she was taking time out from saving the world to watch the game meant more than David could say, and he knew the Foxes appreciated it, too.

Dan and Allison, however, _had_ made it over to watch. VIP seats. If David listened carefully, he almost thought he could pick out their own cheers above the rest of the crowd, although it was likely that he was just projecting because he knew they were out there. He knew they wouldn’t be able to make every game, but they’d made it to _this_ one, and David knew that Neil and Matt in particular were grateful.

Neil headed out onto the court to a roaring crowd to meet Breckenridge’s captain for the coin toss. He won the Foxes first serve then jogged back to the outer court.

David had already given his pre-game pep talk, so with a couple of minutes to go, he had his starters line up at the door ready to head onto the court. Andrew was at the back as goalie, and David stopped next to him on his way to the front, wondering if he could push his luck.

“What do you reckon, Andrew?” David said in a low voice, and held up three fingers, knowing Andrew would know what he was asking. “Three?”

Andrew stared back impassively, then flickered his eyes up towards Neil. “I’ll think about it,” he said blandly, and David grinned. It was as good as a yes.

He carried on up the line, giving his players encouraging nods as he passed them. When he got to Kevin, he squeezed his shoulder briefly, then stopped just ahead of Neil and turned around to face him.

Neil held his helmet in his hands, jaw set and eyes determined as he nodded at David. The buzzer went off overhead signalling it was time to take to the court.

“Waiting on you, junkie,” Andrew drawled from the back of the line, and Neil rolled his eyes, impossibly fond, before tugging his helmet over his head.

“You ready, Captain?” David asked.

Neil’s answering smile was small and fierce.

“Yes, Coach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh it's over! (I was super hoping jack would have finished the books in time for the end of this fic but alas it wasn't to be, sorry!)
> 
> I just wanted to take a quick minute to say thank you to everyone who left kudos, and everyone who left comments -- especially people who repeatedly left comments. a lot of times I questioned what I was doing with this fic because it's the same story that everyone already knows, just from wymack's POV, and I know that not everyone would be particularly interested in that. but I love scene-retellings from other character POVs and in this fandom you often see things from andrew's POV but never wymack. it probably wasn't necessary for me to literally do all of the books, but whatever I did it anyway lmao.
> 
> so yeah, consider this my love letter to wymack, he's a saint and I love him. thanks so much for sticking with me you guys are the best <3333


End file.
